In this study, we tracked elementary preservice teachers' (N = 41) perceived ability to teach reading as they moved through their teacher preparation program. After graduation, we conducted follow-up teaching observations and interviews with five of these novice teachers to explore their perceptions about their ability to teach reading. An…

Summarizes research focusing on the responses of a small set of British primary schools to inspection of their mathematics program: their anticipation of issues, expectations of findings, and views of how the inspection would contribute to developing good practice. Inspectors' reports seemed to match schools' expectations, but disagreements over…

Highlighting Success for All, this article argues that federal funds are being used to support the promulgation and biased evaluation of failed programs. Educators need to beware of conflicts of interest and developers' misleading claims about publicly and privately developed programs. Independent evaluators are needed. (MLH)

As one of the nation's first school effectiveness programs, Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Schools' Project RISE received national attention during the 1980s for efforts to improve elementary students' achievement test scores. The program failed because of inadequate funding, lack of specificity, and failure to translate the RISE philosophy and the five…

The difficulty of translating research into practice in education is one of the most important problems in education reform. The problem is not so much that educators are resistant to change; on the contrary, certain kinds of innovation can be widely adopted, and educators are sure to cite research to support whatever innovation they advocate. Yet…

Considers the possibilities of inadequacies in either the staff development effort and/or the evaluation of the Madeline Hunter Follow-Through Program, and concludes that the long-term change in teacher behavior is more difficult to accomplish than had been anticipated. (Author/HOD)

Offers interpretations of some results of the Napa County, California, Follow-Through Project that tested the Hunter Teacher Decision-Making Model, also known as the Instructional Theory into Practice Model. (Author/HOD)

In order to ascertain the impact of post-graduate course work on curricular practice, a follow-up study was undertaken of the classroom writing practices of participants in the 1987 Writing as Process seminars sponsored by William Paterson College, New Jersey. Seminars were offered in four elementary school districts, each one taught by a William…

Through a review of recent studies on the subject, it becomes clear that the focus of innovation in language teaching has been largely concerned with technological change rather than adoption of new pedagogical procedures. Furthermore, the assumptions behind innovation efforts need to be challenged to determine whose interests are being served.…

The Saanich Elementary Internship Program (SEIP), a team effort between the University of Victoria (British Columbia) faculty of education and the Saanich School District, was investigated for the purpose of improving the preparation of elementary school teachers. The Saanich School District was primarily responsible for selection and placement of…

Explores the question of whether the failure of the MHITIP, designed to change teachers' behavior and student engaged rates in reading and mathematics, was related to a lack of maintenance of program skills or a failure of the program to increase student achievement. (Author/HOD)

Applies the principles of development and integration to the maturation of Montessori schools. Suggests that evaluative inquiry be used as the basis for community inquiry and problem solving by Montessori staff so that reflection, questioning, and decision making result in the highest level of Montessori implementation. (KB)

Examined effectiveness of a teacher education program emphasizing skills and knowledge needed in multicultural, multilingual urban middle school settings. Found that candidates were already culturally/linguistically sensitive, and became more so during the program; felt prepared to meet student needs; and still had difficulty envisioning the…

Intended to help education students develop a theoretical framework that will allow them to make cohesive instructional decisions and plan integrated language arts programs, this guide bridges the gulf between language research and classroom practice, acknowledging that language research is increasingly based upon language produced in such natural…

The relationship among various characteristics of evaluation studies and their overall quality was studied using all of the evaluation studies (N=366) conducted in Israel over 30 years on special projects for disadvantaged students at the elementary school level. The following variables were defined to describe each study: (1) evaluation…