Launched in 1993, The Teachers College at Emporia State University began its first Professional Development School (PDS) partnership and, since then, The Teachers College has continued to provide high-impact learning opportunities for teacher candidates--including several unique four-week student teaching placements described in this article.…

Successful education systems are those that promote leadership at all levels, thereby encouraging teachers and principals, regardless of the formal positions they occupy, to lead innovation in the classroom, the school and the system as a whole. This report summarises evidence from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey and the OECD…

This article is concerned with the professional development of mathematics teachers. It starts with a need, identifies a problem, and suggests some ways of coping with the problem. The need is for teachers to develop mathematical communication and reflection skills in their practice. There is a widespread agreement that these skills are an…

For more than a decade, competence development has been a key concept of modern management in both the private and the public sector, but to some extent its meaning and practice have been different in the two sectors. In the public sector in particular, competence development has been closely related to a number of other buzzwords characterizing…

Recent changes in the regulation of education systems in Europe and beyond have led to greater control over the work of teachers and the performance of schools. The paper draws upon the findings of a programme of funded comparative research, which has examined the impact of national education policy and policy change on teachers' work and…

Denmark's decentralized public primary and lower secondary "Folkeskole" system offers nine years of compulsory instruction, "class teachers" who coordinate other teachers, and students who remain in the same groups until graduation. A 1994 law issuing curriculum guidelines and committing teachers to team teaching will…

Evaluates a materials writing approach to professional development in English language teaching (ELT). The context is the training of teacher trainers, and the specific focus is a United Kingdom course for ELT professionals from Polish teacher training institutions. The article describes the background to the course, analyzes teacher training…

Numerous reports and articles have decried the mediocrity of U.S. students' foreign language skills and have called for improved language education. One study that looked at foreign language education in 19 countries suggests several characteristics of successful foreign language programs: starting early, providing an articulated framework,…