In this article, different inspection models are compared in terms of their impact on school improvement and the mechanisms each of these models generates to have such an impact. Our theoretical framework was drawn from the programme theories of six countries' school inspection systems (i.e. the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Ireland, the province…

Since the classical authors of the nineteenth century, the explanation of macro-social phenomena has been considered as the essential epistemic achievement, hence the "raison d'etre," of comparative analysis in the social sciences. In practice, however, the claims of comparative social enquiry for providing convincing explanations are…

Reports survey findings from 930 Singapore secondary teachers on job satisfaction and work centrality and their relationships to work environment, teacher role, classroom practices, and teacher background. Compares results to those from four other countries, and presents path models for Singapore and U.S. data. (SV)