Background: Victimization in schools is not limited to students. Teachers increasingly face threats and attacks from their students. An authoritative school environment, characterized by high structure and support, has been associated with lower rates of victimization. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between authoritative…

Today's American educational context is characterised by increasing standardisation coupled with heightened accountability. While some view standardisation as a lever for equity, many view it as problematic for the work of teachers. Efforts to improve student achievement by focusing on the activities of teachers have resulted in an over-riding…

This study investigated public school principals' reports of professional development implementation at the school level while working in different state- and local-level contexts (state accountability level, geographic locations, socioeconomic status, demographics, and grade levels). I attempted to measure principals' reported changes in levels…

This quantitative study used the Schools and Staffing Survey of 2007-2008, a school-based stratified probability-proportionate-to-size sample of all American schools, to explore the relationships of professional development to teachers' self- and collective efficacy by school accountability status as measured by adequate yearly progress (AYP). In…

This report is the third of a three-phase research study of teacher professional learning opportunities in the United States. In this third phase of the research, the authors conducted case studies of four professionally active states to get a deeper look at the policy frameworks that support professional development in those states. These…

Schools and Staffing Survey data on public school teachers from 1993-94 and 1999-2000 show that more teachers participate in content-focused professional development, more policy supports provide incentives for participation, and more resources for professional development are allocated to high-poverty schools. The largest increase in sustained…

This report examines the status of elementary and secondary teaching as a profession in the United States. The primary data source is the 1990-91 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The sample used contains data from 11,589 schools. This report assesses levels of teacher professionalization…