The need for in-service education of teachers cannot be underestimated. It is a necessity in enhancing work performance and motivation of teachers in the field. Absence of in-service training of teachers will retard professional growth of teachers as well as "missing gaps" between demands and actual achievement levels. Inservice…

Purpose: In the present paper we describe how civic and citizenship education takes place in Italy, trying to identify strengths and weaknesses, with the aims both of understanding the situation and of identifying possible measures for improvement. Methods: The methodology implies an analysis of the official guidelines by the Ministry in this…

Teacher education nowadays needs a change in vision and action to cater to the demands of changing societies. Reforms, improvements, and new approaches in teacher education are an immediate need. Online training of teachers using OER has emerged as a new approach in this direction. This approach is based on the assumption that online training will…

In this essay, the authors share a professional dialogue about the ways in which issues of power emerge in preschool classrooms when teachers endeavor to build on children's home and school mathematical experiences and understanding. From different perspectives, as early childhood and mathematics education researchers, the authors discuss ways in…

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) disciplines are considered key to the scientific and economic improvement in the United States. As noted by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (2011), we need a nation in which "all" teachers and thus, all students, are "STEM-capable" (p. 2), that is, equipped with a broad…

The existence of underachievers who are gifted remains an important concern for many educators. As educators work to reverse this phenomenon we believe the underachievement of gifted students needs attention via this research and other studies that contextualize the issues within the North American education system. The authors believed that every…

This paper reviewed policy provisions for "pre-service" and "in-service" teacher training programmes and facilities in Nigeria. It also presented reviews on legislations, agencies involved in teacher affairs management in Nigeria, using the historical and case study approach. Data on teaching qualifications of University of…

This study examines professional development activities provided for mathematics and science teachers in the National Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership Program by analyzing a cross-sectional sample of over 2000 professional development (PD) activities in the program. Data were gathered from secondary source documents and surveys to…

Drawing on studies of teachers, accountants and pharmacists conducted in Canada, this essay examines models for assessing professional learning that currently enjoy widespread use in continuing education. These models include professional growth plans, self-administered tests and learning logs, and they are often used for regulatory as well as…

In 2003-04 the Open University offered its first German beginners' course with a dual tuition strand: tutorials were delivered either face-to-face or online using synchronous, audio-graphic, Internet-based conferencing software. For the new online tutors, a special training programme was designed and delivered. We evaluated the benefits of our…

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics and perceived effectiveness of staff development practices in selected high schools in South Dakota. The review of literature and research related to staff development examined the following questions: What types of staff development practices are being employed to encourage and…

First-year research conducted by the authors of a 3-year, cross-cultural, professional development project involving English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at a private pre-K-12 school in central Mexico. Findings indicate that key elements of the integrative-systematic approach - developed to respond to the combined need for equity and…

"Elementary Science: Where are We Now?" is a review of Elementary Science Education from the 1960s to 1999. Curriculum moved from uniform programs in the 1960s based on two assumptions to a wide diversity of goals, philosophies, and types of materials in the 1970s. The two assumptions behind the elementary science curriculum programs of…

In 2003-04, 11 Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) high schools moved from a traditional student schedule of six full-year courses to a block schedule of four courses each semester (4x4). Implementation went fairly smoothly, with 90% of teachers trained prior to the change. Academic course opportunities and course enrollment numbers increased…