One of the great school funding myths of our time is the notion that money spent on improving public schools for poor and minority students is akin to throwing money into a bottomless pit. According to the politicians and policymakers who have pushed this view into the public debate on education reform, our schools have ample resources, and…

This report examines the current status of teacher quality in the city and what the School District of Philadelphia is now doing to ensure that all classrooms have highly trained, motivated, and knowledgeable teachers ready to boost the achievement of the district's 188,000 students.The report shows that teacher quality in Philadelphia has not…

The purpose of this article is to show teacher competence is due to not only experience but also knowledge of the subject matter. Many schools in Lebanon are suffering from teacher incompetence in general and English language teachers' incompetence in particular. Twenty pre-service and eighteen in-service Lebanese English teachers teaching in…

This digest discusses the professional development of foreign language teachers at a time when the foreign language teaching profession is facing a number of new challenges, such as a rapidly changing student clientele, the development of national standards for foreign language education, and advances in technology. The first section of the digest…

Recent research explaining the influence of teacher knowledge and beliefs on instruction tends to illustrate what teachers cannot do by describing their limited beliefs about mathematics or gaps in mathematics knowledge. Those studies illustrating what teachers can do tend to focus on one teacher. This paper describes what nine secondary level…

This paper examines the experience of Caribbean countries in striving to achieve quality in early childhood development programs. Part 1 reviews the needs of developing children and the dimensions of quality in early childhood programs intended to meet those needs. Included in the discussion is the use of Developmentally Appropriate Practice…

Maryland's teacher education reform began in 1991, when the Maryland Higher Education Council (MHEC) charged a task force with recommending a comprehensive approach to educating teachers that combined a solid foundation in academic preparation with promising developments in professional practice. The task force report recommended a 4+1 model for…

The World Wide Web is changing not only how individuals locate jobs but also the ways existing jobs are performed. Individuals seeking work will need to know how to use the Web as a tool for enhancing their job performance. The enhanced global communication made possible through Internet technology and the increase of marketing plans combining…

In 1993, Washington's state legislature created the Commission on Student Learning to identify essential academic learning requirements related to four goals. One of those goals was to understand the importance of work and how performance, effort, and decisions directly affect career and educational opportunities. As in other states, the…

A survey was conducted to determine opinions of teacher educators, state directors, and teachers about the generic curriculum components that should be included in preparation for special education. A 25-item survey instrument was constructed and sent to special education department chairpersons at teacher education institutions, state directors…

Assumptions have been made that jobs in the United States require ever-greater levels of skill and that this trend is accelerating as a result of the diffusion of information technology. These assumptions have led to substantial concern over the possibility of a growing mismatch between the skills workers possess and the skills employers demand,…

Noting the need for current, accurate information on the Colorado child care workforce in order to make policy and programmatic decisions, this report describes the enrollment capacity and provides a staffing profile of child care centers, directors, teachers, and family child care providers statewide. The report draws on data collected by means…

This study investigated the relationship between several components of teacher burnout and various professional factors. Professional factors included professional qualifications, teaching level, professional growth, professional commitment, and role efficacy. Components of teacher burnout included development of negative attitudes toward students…

The under-representation of qualified women in leadership positions has created a gender gap that exists not only in education but in many areas of the workplace. Society has determined that only males make good leaders; therefore it continues to deny easy access for women seeking leadership roles because they do not fit the norm. Women who seek…

The 1996 report "What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future" features a 3-part proposal which consists of teacher education program accreditation, initial teacher licensing, and advanced certification based upon a set of shared knowledge, skills, and commitments for professional teaching. A study explored one facet of this proposed…