Drawing on data from a US study of nine mentors and mentees, including mentee scores on the Reasoning about Current Issues (RCI) Test, which offers a measure of cognitive complexity, the authors explore how differences in cognitive complexity were related to role expectations, conceptions of teaching problems, and the use of evidence for…

In the current political context, researchers have, as Ivor Goodson (1992) earlier argued, a special obligation: "to assure that "the teachers' voice" is heard, heard loudly, heard articulately." But not just any "voice" will do--teacher troubles need to be tightly linked to issues, biography to history. On every front, directly and indirectly,…

The purpose of this study was to shed light on mentor teachers' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities and to contrast their understandings with a normative view of mentoring (Goldsberry, 1998; Hawkey, 1997). We hypothesized that the mentor teachers' perceptions would likely differ from established conceptions of this construct, a…

Increasingly, educational reform is linked to the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs). Definitions of PLCs vary, but generally the concept refers to a group of educators who "continuously seek and share learning, and act on their learning" (Hord 1997, 6). Stoll and her colleagues, concluding their review of the current state of…

The author probes the essence of teaching. (MM)

The cultural tradition of public service and "technocratic mindedness" have influenced and shaped the teacher's role. Interviews with teachers illustrate aspects of the nature of limits and role boundaries. Instances and meanings of contrary teacher actions are discussed. (DF)

Describes the use of metaphor analysis to engage preservice students in an examination of their conceptions of teaching. The evolution of three students' metaphors as they proceeded through student teaching illustrates the value of metaphor analysis in helping student teachers maintain their idealism when confronting the realities of classroom…

Drawing on interviews with clinical and university-based teacher educators and administrators, the authors explore the challenges of building and sustaining collaborative university/school partnerships. Using the concept of ''communities of practice'' (Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,…

Interest in educational reform is a side benefit of recent school criticism. Unfortunately, where the cause of educational failure is understood to be teachers, educational reform has become teacher reform, which most often means that greater effort will be placed on controlling teacher behavior. (LC)

Describes the rigors of institutionalized Professional Development Schools (PDS), demonstrating the symbiotic, difficult nature of the relationship. Researchers evaluated one elementary partnership program via interviews with all PDS participants. Results provided information on the changing roles of teacher educators, cooperating teacher…

Based on observation and experience, analysis translates into a proposal for reform. Eight essays explore in personal terms several troubling educational issues undergirded by the fundamental belief that the purpose of public education is the cultivation of civic virtue. The first essay addresses the widespread loss of faith in public schooling.…

Using data from surveys of and interviews with teachers and principals, this study explored the impact of involvement in Professional Development Schools (PDS) on teacher professional growth and school change at seven elementary and secondary PDS sites. Results highlighted the importance of a range of context variables to program success. (SM)