Schools devote substantial resources to teacher professional development each year. Yet studies show much of this investment is directed toward ineffective short-term workshops that have little impact on instructional change or student outcomes. At the same time, more intensive job-embedded forms of professional learning, such as instructional…

A statewide longitudinal survey of 923 middle school mathematics teachers in Missouri was conducted from 2009 to 2011 to examine the amount of organizational resources for professional development that teachers received and the relationship between organizational resources and teachers' participation in high-quality professional development. This…

Purpose: We investigated the way in which structured, multiyear conversations about race and institutional racism occurred in suburban secondary schools with changing racial demographics. Research Framework: The study draws on interpretive research traditions, in that we assume that how teachers understand race and racism will influence how they…

This mixed-method study examined the ways that principals and teachers coparticipated in discipline-focused online communities of practice designed to foster instructional improvement in two middle schools. Findings derived from interviews and content analysis of the online discussion threads revealed the emergence of a shared language about…

The study presented here examines the efforts of one principal and the team she relied upon to create a more inclusive and high-performing school in a large urban school district. The goals, actions, and responsibilities of the team are described, as well as the daily challenges associated with school administration and special education. In doing…

Practitioners and scholars alike would be well served by new research attempting to draw connections between teacher perspectives and the administrative/organizational structuring of the work place. A sample of experienced teachers selected for detailed interviews described the conditions that facilitated their engagement in meaningful dialogue…

Investigates principal-selection decisions made by teachers serving on school councils, using a between-within split-plot factorial design. Teachers preferred candidates with whom they shared a dominant work value. Elementary- and middle-school teachers preferred candidates oriented toward instructional leadership. High-school teachers preferred…

Explores the assumption that teachers want to participate in schoolwide decision making by constructing a typology of teachers. Characterizes four types of teachers: empowered, disenfranchised, involved (those that do not want to participate, but do), and disengaged. Analysis of teachers' differences and similarities on demographic and attitudinal…

True faculty empowerment involves decision participation, authority over issues concerning professional life, and opportunities to acquire knowledge necessary to warrant such activity. This paper describes selected experiences of four schools implementing a shared governance model, identifying factors facilitating meaningful involvement and…

Discusses the team teaching process developed in the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada, resulting from the Nevada Legislature's mandate to reduce class size to a 15:1 ratio. Describes the nature of team relationships and how teachers came to teach in a team situation. Advises teacher input in team partner selection as essential to…

South Carolina's Educational Improvement Act may be only one factor responsible for closed decision-making climates in most of the state's elementary schools, because "reforms" also occurred in curriculum development, methodology, teacher education, and evaluation. With the deregulation movement gaining speed, the time is ripe for…

A study asked 318 randomly selected teachers from Kentucky to rate validated job descriptions for school council vacancies. Teachers with greater numbers of dependent children and prior school-council experience rated these positions more negatively than did teachers with fewer dependent children and no prior experience. Implications are…

Summarizes an empirical study of New Jersey middle schools that examines important domains of teacher participation in decision making and school climate. Healthy interpersonal dynamics are associated with lower levels of decision deprivation among teachers. Although a healthy school climate may underlie authentic teacher participation, it is less…

Teacher collegial groups (TCGs) may be a structure capable of promoting much-needed professional dialogue among teachers. This article frames TCGs within the organization development perspective, explains how one principal implemented a TCG in her school, and analyzes how the process affected a school's organizational culture. Includes 24…

Examines the effects of site-based management on elementary school teachers' perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU), or lack of clarity concerning significant knowledge desired or needed to perform effectively. There were significant PEU differences between the two schools studied. Results suggest that site-based management is a feasible…