Every year, new teachers collectively spend about $4.8 billion on their training requirements, nearly all of which goes to teacher preparation programs. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether that is money well spent. Despite decades of research and ongoing calls to improve the quality of teacher training, we still do not know how to sculpt an…

Many educators have created successful innovative models but have had difficulty sustaining, re-creating, and scaling these models. Classrooms and schools characterized by student-centered learning practices typically deviate from the norms of transmission teaching and the many structures and procedures that David Tyack and Larry Cuban called the…

One of the mysteries of education reform is how leaders and educators can successfully instantiate, sustain, and spread student-centered pedagogical practices from a few schools to many others. Advocates for "deeper learning" grapple with this mystery as they seek to transform teaching and learning to prepare students to meet the demands…

Ongoing educational reform initiatives have ushered in significant changes in teacher-certification regulations. Many states no longer offer permanent certification, but instead require teachers to participate in career-long professional development (PD). Accordingly, increasing attention is being paid to the effectiveness of PD initiatives,…

The professional development of teachers is seen as a key to improving instruction in mathematics. A position paper on Professional Development Programs for Teachers of Mathematics was endorsed by the Board of Directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in April 1985, and this handbook provides suggestions for implementing the…

Romania has developed a complete strategy for inservice teacher education which is seen as a continuum from initial training. This integrated approach allows a progression through clearly-defined stages and emphasizes the teacher's role in shaping the human personality. (DF)

Effective inservice programs are necessary to ensure that current reforms in education are properly implemented. Inservice programs must meet the needs of both the educational system and educators. Six basic policy assumptions dealing with what is needed in inservice education are discussed. (DF)

A major reform of the educational system and teacher-training is underway in Bulgaria. A discussion of both preservice and inservice teacher education reforms is offered. (DF)

This study examines two types of inservice activities in the Netherlands. With the first, school-focused inservice education, continuing education activities are focused on the interests, needs, and problems directly related to one's role and responsibilities in a specific school setting. This focuses on teachers' concerns and needs as well as on…

Metaphors influence, in many ways, methods and ways of thinking, including the planning and implementation of inservice teacher education programs. Inservice programs are often not considered successful; writers, developers, producers, and potential adopters of the programs should become aware of their metaphoric stance. Three metaphors commonly…

This description of a project in the Netherlands concentrates on the progress made by participating schools since 1974, inhibiting and success factors, and the outlook for the future. The MAVO project provides secondary students with training for administrative functions. One of the characteristics of the program is that it provides a three-year…

Consistent with educational reform efforts, the Quality Performance Assessment (QPA) Process Module was designed to disseminate information about the QPA Process, and to be a training vehicle so that members of the Kansas State Board of Education Outcomes Education Team and the Kansas education community might have the knowledge base necessary to…

This annotated bibliography lists 29 journal articles and publications which deal with recent professional developments in the field of teacher education. (JN)

Describes two new approaches to supplement vocational agriculture teacher inservice education at Washington State University: 2-week summer school and 2-day mini-courses. (HD)

The literature regarding the provision of in-service education is reviewed to: (1) provide brief definitions of rural school districts and in-service education; (2) discuss the importance of in-service education; (3) explore the difficulties associated with in-service education in rural areas, along with possible remedies; and (4) examines various…