Learning to teach ESL entails not only knowledge of linguistics, pedagogy, and curriculum, but it also entails negotiating challenges to identity, cultural sensibilities, and emotional relations. In order to make sense of these challenges, I inquire into the experiences of pre-service TESOL teachers teaching and learning experiences in a study…

The purpose of this study was to conduct descriptive, exploratory research to answer the questions: What is the ideal class size for online courses? What are the variables that affect optimal class size in this environment? As a study of the literature, the goal was to collect research-based evidence supporting optimal class size. The initial…

Teachers' perceptions of their school leaders influence student achievement in their schools. The extent of this influence is examined in this study. This quantitative study examined teachers' perceptions of the leadership style of their principals as transformational, transactional or passive-avoidant in improving and non-improving schools in…

This paper compares the ways in which gender was articulated and experienced through the construction of children's education in two very different community-led educational initiatives in Britain: turn-of-the-century Socialist Sunday Schools and late-twentieth-century Black Supplementary Schools. Exploration of these historical examples of…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…

A wonderful thing about teaching is that you encounter all sorts of students. This article takes a closer look at gifted students in my classroom. It explores a case where a student underachieved and another instance where a few gifted students were engaged in learning through a differentiated curriculum. This article briefly outlines their…

This article presents the author's experience as a new teacher lamenting the lack of clear and achievable expectations. Given a book list in place of a curriculum on her first day, she comments that she can understand why such a lack of guidance for new teachers can lead to frustration and departures. She further shares that since becoming a…

Teachers are crucial to the success of students. Yet, many of them are leaving their schools and the profession every year, particularly in poorer, lower-performing schools. As in any profession, not all attrition is bad, but whether bad or good, it has financial ramifications. This article explores the costs associated with teachers leaving the…

In this "At Last" essay, Susan Lytle addresses issues of teacher research, work that is shaped by and that shapes the complexity of teachers' knowledge and learning, and is based on the accumulation of robust and meaningful experiences leading to classroom expertise. Assuring her readers that teacher research is alive and well, even in the current…

Mid-career faculty comprise the largest component of the academic workforce. But what do people really know about them? What do they experience? What are their needs? In contrast to the large and growing body of empirical research on their early-career colleagues, the research on them is far from robust, offering relatively few suggestions for how…

Recent teacher effectiveness research supports the notion that students learn best from teachers who can be characterized as managing both the craft and the artistic dimensions of learning. Additionally, there is a body of research that has examined possible strategies instructional leaders might use to support the development of the craft…

Positive attitudes of key stakeholders, such as school principals, towards a new policy are considered a necessary pre-requisite to implement any such policy. Hong Kong has recently formulated a policy that supports the integration of students with disabilities into regular schools. This study investigated the attitudes of Hong Kong primary school…

The struggle to equitably serve low-income students of color in U.S. schools is as significant as ever. The nation is also struggling to prepare enough teachers to serve these students. These challenges are exacerbated when these students are more likely to attend substandard schools. Combined, a tension exists between producing enough teachers…

In this critically reflective piece, I describe the design of a foundations of education course and my first year teaching experience. I discuss thematic statements of issues that emerged as I came to construct the meaning of my experience and evolving ideas about teaching for public service professions. These included that: (1) Questioning is not…

Last year, Utica Community Schools District in Sterling Heights, Michigan, offered a buyout to its veteran teachers and administrators. As a result, Adlai E. Stevenson High School hired 25 new teachers, most of whom were in their first year of teaching. The administrative team was faced with an extraordinarily large list of teachers who had little…