Developing scientifically literate students who understand the socially contextualized nature of science and technology is a national focus of science education reform. Science educators' perceptions of risks and benefits of new technologies (such as biotechnology) may shape their instructional approaches. This study examined the perceived risk of…

Purpose: School principals make sense of multiple messages, policies, and contexts within their school environments. The purpose of this paper is to examine specifically how school leaders make sense of hiring and subjective evaluation of on-the-job teacher performance. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study drew from 42 interviews…

The majority of studies regarding the preparation of teachers in the area of content knowledge indicate there is a lack of deeper understanding of the subject matter in which teachers are licensed to teach (Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2001). The purpose of this Delphi research study was to identify the perceptions of recent business education…

This paper presents the first in a series of studies on the informal advice networks of a community of teachers in an in-service professional development program. The aim of the research was to use Social Network Analysis as a methodological tool to reveal the social networks developed by the teachers, and to examine whether these networks…

Integrating technology into the mathematics classroom means more than just new teaching tools--it is an opportunity to redefine what it means to teach and learn mathematics. Yet deciding when a particular form of technology may be appropriate for a specific mathematics topic can be difficult. Such decisions center on what is commonly being…

This paper examines a core leadership strategy for transforming learning and teaching in distance education through flexible and blended learning. It focuses on a project centred on distributive leadership that involves collaboration, shared purpose, responsibility and recognition of leadership irrespective of role or position within an…

Educational technology research has been characterised as lacking theoretical frameworks that can enable cumulative knowledge-building across the field. This article explores the value of Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) for addressing these issues by discussing research into the key of integration of information and communication technologies in…

The general pedagogical knowledge of teachers is not often investigated in comparison to content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. In this article, a more comprehensive outlook on teachers' skills and knowledge without regard to subject-specific nuances is discussed in relation to classroom management strategies, the organization of…

The primary purpose of this study is to examine science student teachers' experience with educational technology, their intentions for their own use, their intentions for their students' use, and their beliefs in the value of educational technology in science instruction. Four hundred-forty-eight science student teachers of different disciplines…

This article describes a fifth year program evaluation of a private provider program for teacher certification in Louisiana. The study sought to evaluate the success of the Teach Louisiana Consortium program in terms of teacher placement, teacher retention, administrative satisfaction, teacher attitudes, and teacher pedagogical knowledge. Initial…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of importance that DuFour's nine characteristics of highly effective schools have on closing the academic achievement gap on the California High School Exit Exam, as perceived by high school principals. The study also examined the strategies believed to be most important in developing…

Coaching has become an increasingly utilized professional development strategy to improve mathematics instruction at the elementary level. However, little research has been conducted on the nature of mathematics coaching and its effects. This study has examined factors that affected elementary teachers who participated in a specific coaching model…

Recently, the interest in ensuring integration between science and mathematics has been increasing. Taking this interest into consideration, this paper investigates whether or not a programme integrating particular attainments of science and technology, and mathematics classes in Turkey is effective. The study was performed in the educational term…

The shortage of qualified teachers across the U.S. has contributed to the popularity of alternative certification programs. These programs are designed to attract individuals into the teaching profession by allowing candidates to become certified without having to complete a traditional teacher education program. This Information Capsule reviewed…

This study explores the concepts and behaviors, otherwise referred to as "orientations", of six Indian science teachers and the alignment of these orientations to the 2005 India National Curriculum Framework (NCF-2005). Differences in teachers' orientations across grade bands (elementary, middle, and secondary) and school types (public…