This article presents a professional development initiative developed by a university-school partnership based on the Japanese lesson-study model described by Stigler and Hiebert (1999) in "The Teaching Gap." Lesson study ("jugyoukenkyu"), an inquiry model of teacher professional development, is used extensively throughout…

This article describes a project in which first-year administrators in Pinellas County, Fla., were members of a professional development cadre. The major purpose of the study was to determine the problems encountered by first-year assistant principals. During cadre meetings, participants were encouraged to record in journals and discuss with their…

A policy implementation study was undertaken in 65 schools in order to explore practices and outcomes related to state policies requiring schools to establish comprehensive educational support systems and teams. The purpose of these systems and teams was to enhance the capacity of schools to support students with diverse needs in general education…

While there has been a steady increase in the understanding of how service-learning affects students, there remains a dearth of research on how using service-learning pedagogy impacts faculty. In this research study six themes emerged that illuminate how using this innovative pedagogy shaped and influenced faculty members' understandings of, and…

The merger of two successful not-for-profit organizations: Education Extra and the Community Education Development Centre (CEDC) is a defining moment in the afterschool field in the United Kingdom. The momentous occasion offers an opportunity to take stock of the achievements of Education Extra, which for the past ten years has led national…

This chapter examines the role of a national network of local and regional intermediary organizations in initiating and sustaining community-based youth worker professional development systems. This approach is instructive for other intermediaries in establishing training standards, assessing impact, providing organizational supports for youth…

This paper traces the professional growth of science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago through their involvement in the production of context-based resource materials relevant to the lives of their students during workshop sessions. Grounded theory methods were used to analyse pre- and post-workshop questionnaire responses, tape-recorded group…

Informal learning's roots emerged from educational philosophers John Dewey, Kurt Lewin and Mary Parker Follett to theorists Malcolm Knowles and other successive researchers. This paper explores the background and definitions of informal learning and applications to the global workplace. Informal learning's challenges are applied to developing…

In October 2002, the multiple and single subject credential programs at a large urban Los Angeles Basin California State University campus, were approved as Early Adopters of the SB 2042 Professional Teacher Preparation Program. These programs resulted from a complex and multi-faceted process of change supported and influenced by reform…

In this article, the author discusses the responsibilities of private sector dance educators to their students, parents and the faculty in middle America. The author believes that dance educators' responsibility to their students requires that they are qualified, caring, and professional. Private sector dance educators have the challenge of…

This article presents the author's reaction to Catherine Marshall and Michael Ward's article on research on social justice and training for leadership. Marshall and Ward's article provides an informative lens into how influential leaders perceive the role and importance of social justice training in the field of educational leadership. Marshall…

The newly developed "Learning To Teach System" for the preparation of teachers in California and the accompanying standards (referred to as the "2042 Standards" since they were derived from Senate Bill 2042 (SB 2042) passed by the California Legislature in 1998) have changed the way some California educators perceive the…

In this paper the author makes a short presentation of an ongoing longitudinal research project in Sweden. However, he wants to focus on the theoretical perspective he has found fruitful for his understanding of music teachers' professional socialisation, and on the question whether the music teacher must also be a musician in order to possess…

One hundred fifty-four special education directors in one northeastern state were surveyed regarding how specific components of Section 504 were implemented. Mean scores revealed that districts are properly implementing components of the law, including providing Section 504 plans only to students with disabilities, reviewing Section 504 plans on a…

This article aims to study the design and the organization of auditing systems to develop environmental or quality assurance schemes at the farm level and the role that extension services could play in these processes. It starts by discussing the issue of combining auditing and advisory activities and developing auditing competences. Empirical…