Comparative case studies assessed how the micropolitics of educational reform in two elementary schools affected one southeastern district's effort to professionalize teaching. The results indicate that teachers can use micropolitics to resist reform that, in these cases, legitimated centralization and control, and to heighten their control of…

Case study of how teachers reacted to policy paradoxes related to a district's efforts to implement an inclusive special-education program. Examines how emerging teacher leaders attempted to make sense of several policy paradoxes within the context of ambiguous site-based management practices. (Contains 48 references.) (PKP)

The area of teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) is of growing interest internationally. However, while an increasing range of literature focuses on particular aspects of CPD, there is a paucity of literature addressing the spectrum of CPD models in a comparative manner. This article therefore considers a wide range of international…

By analyzing contemporary literature, this paper posits a federal role in what is seen as a trend toward "normalizing" college faculty positions and shifting control away from state and local jurisdictions. Three factors are seen as contributing to this shift. The first is the government's role in funding the hard sciences which has, in…

A study was done of teachers' perceptions of support, resources, empowerment, autonomy, and discipline problems in Chapter 1 and non-Chapter 1 schools. The study used data from the Schools and Staffing Survey. Overall, most teachers in elementary schools, middle schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools with Chapter 1 programs agree…

Recognition of teachers as professionals can come with increased college preparation, professional participation of all segments of the profession with mutual respect for one another, and a more active voice by the profession in licensing and establishment of standards. Preparation requirements for teachers should be mandated nationally rather…

The application of professional judgment in reviewing and, if necessary, adjusting the results of need analyses in student financial aid is discussed. Specifically, guidelines and alternatives are provided that may be exercised in determining a family's reasonable ability to provide for postsecondary educational expenses. The following topics are…

This volume offers a comprehensive account of autonomy in language learning and the educational practices associated with the concept. The book is divided into 18 chapters: "The History of Autonomy in Language Learning"; "Autonomy beyond the Field of Language Education"; "Defining and Describing Autonomy"; Control as a Natural Attribute of…

National data comparing public and private schools show many systematic differences in source of support, degree of parental choice, student populations, teacher qualifications and salaries, school and class size, professional autonomy, instructional practices, and support services. Larger and better financed than most private schools, public…

The following case study (Stake, 2000) explores the collective properties of the group of leaders working together to enact instructional change in an urban high school (Spillane, et al., 2001). It documents how an urban public high continues to work toward developing and enacting a model of leadership that is transformational, distributed, and…

This paper reports on findings from a 1990-93 PACE (Primary Assessment, Curriculum and Experience) study concerning the impact of the United Kingdom's Education Reform Act on teachers' professional perspectives and responses to change. Data are drawn from interviews with a national sample of 88 teachers and more intensive classroom study…

School organizations must become responsive and flexible to address rapidly changing social, economic, and demographic conditions. Reform attempts to date have not worked because they were layered on old structures and perceptions in a fragmented, piecemeal fashion. The fundamental transformation of education that is required demands a paradigm…

Twelve women who reentered graduate study/career pursuits were studied to determine their perceptions of self and world, and their relationship to the women's movement of the 1960s. The women were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s and pursued graduate school/career pursuits during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Self-worth achieved by the successful career…

In order to reconceptualize the mentoring relationship in higher education, parallels to colonialist strategies of subordination are drawn. The objective is to stimulate renewed thinking and action more consistent with stated policy goals in higher education. One of the primary functions of a mentor or sponsor is to exercise personal power to…

This book is about the work of teachers in American secondary schools. It addresses the character of teaching as a job, teachers as workers, and schools as workplaces. The book's objective is to reexamine the character of schools as organizations and the implications for those working within these organizations. It draws on research from the field…