Background/Context: Many urban schools today look to instructional teams as a means to decrease professional isolation, promote teachers' ongoing development, and substantially reduce well-documented variation in teachers' effectiveness across classrooms. Recent research finds that teams can contribute to teachers' development and increased…

This case study examined action research conducted by bilingual education teachers in urban schools as a tool for progressing from novice-to-expert teachers. We described a longitudinal study across four cohorts of first-year bilingual education teachers as action researchers (n = 9). The study investigated the following: (1) how school leaders…

This interpretative study of teachers as learners explored the continuing professional learning of teachers in a range of Australian schools. While teacher learning is regarded as a cornerstone of school reform, knowledge of how and why teachers engage in ongoing learning is scant. Research participants completed an open-ended questionnaire about…

This article presents excerpts from a case study describing Angelica Dawson, a New York State music educator. Angelica makes improvisation a central part of her curricula in ways that transcend traditional offerings prevalent in American public schools. Qualitative research methods were used to document Angelica's work over the course of an…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of four urban schools that sought to develop professional community as part of a restructuring process. The study focuses on how restructuring affected teachers' work over a 3-year period. It reports that the absence of structural conditions can impede the growth of professional community; however, their…