Teachers' beliefs, conceptualised as heuristics encompassing perceptions and ideologies regarding aspects of their profession, strongly influence their practices. Grounded in this perspective, this study investigated teachers' beliefs and perceived practices in the context of teaching English as foreign language (EFL) to immigrant students in…

The demands of teacher educators underwent a major change. They not only are required to excel in teaching, but also to conduct research as an essential part of their professional life. This ambivalence raises questions regarding their professional identity. How can they identify with their profession if their roles keep changing? Two native and…

Discussion about the need for professionalization has accompanied the development of informal education from its very early stages. Some people believe informal education is staffed by temporary players whose main value derived in part from the fact that their work embodies the principles of altruism, hence they need no professional training. In…

In order to facilitate policy-driven reforms in science education, it is important to understand how teaching innovations diffuse among teachers and how that adoption process can be catalysed. Little is known about the set of attitudes that makes teachers early or late adopters. In this study, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (C-BAM) was employed…

During 2009, three alternative teacher retraining programs in English as a Foreign Language, mathematics and biology were launched for the first time in one of Israel's largest teacher education colleges. The programs, which offered varied economic incentives to participants, were initiated by the state owing to shortages of teachers in these…

This study investigated 10 Israeli preschool teachers' reasons for choosing their profession and their perceptions of the teacher's role. A narrative approach was chosen because teachers' narratives can reveal their practical knowledge and the meanings they ascribe to their teaching. Data were subjected to content analysis and linguistic analysis.…

The present paper focuses on new teachers' satisfaction with their first year of teaching from the perspective of socialization. The relationship between satisfaction with socialization and teacher background, school environment, placement, and induction variables was examined. Data were collected from 243 Israeli beginning teachers by means of…

The relationship of certain teacher background variables to their attitudes priorities, expectations, and instructional practices regarding botany and zoology was investigated. Teachers were grouped into three categories: botanists, zoologists, and neutrals; the academic achievement of the students of the teachers in the three categories was…

A 23-item questionnaire was used to measure the inservice needs of 246 junior high school teachers of mathematics. Teachers were then sorted into groups according to prior teaching experience and educational credentials. Analysis showed these groups to prioritize the five identified need categories differently. (Author/MT)

Increasing numbers of students with disabilities are enrolled in post-secondary institutions. This study examined faculty attitudes and practices regarding students with disabilities in teacher education. Participants were 188 faculty in seven colleges, in Israel, who responded to a survey instrument about attitudes and practices. Faculty reported…

Investigated the effect of having a tutoring experience on Israeli elementary student teachers' attitudes toward economically disadvantaged students, noting the influence of student teacher background on attitude. Surveys of student teachers participating in tutoring and nontutoring groups indicated that tutoring students had more positive…

Presents ethnographic data drawn from observation of three elementary school classes in Kiryah, a development town in Israel. Determines that pupils' classroom seating expresses teachers' behavior patterns, which are said to derive from external social and professional frames of reference. (KH)

Three selection phases were found in a study investigating the selection process of students into the teaching profession: (1) self selection by the potential teacher; (2) admission to the teacher-training program; and (3) election to undergo the course of instruction. Results suggest that personality traits are more important than cognitive…

Examined the relationship of caregivers' beliefs and behavior to personal and professional background and work environment. Studied the quality of care in family day care homes in Israel in terms of the caregiver's behavior. With the exception of the attribution of influence, caregivers' beliefs were not related to their background or work…

Describes a study of job satisfaction among 373 elementary teachers in Bedouin schools in southern Israel. Finds that the two most significant job satisfaction factors were teachers' satisfaction with work itself and teachers' satisfaction with social needs. Also finds that female teachers and teachers with higher educational levels were more…