In the rush of day-to-day tasks and the daily demands of caring for young children, little time is left for conversation between administrators and teachers. Both sides often walk out of meetings feeling like little more than paperwork has been accomplished. Likewise, professional development becomes a paperwork formality. Both administrators and…

This paper argues that early childhood education and care (ECEC) has a legitimate aspiration to be a "caring profession" like others such as nursing or social work, defined by a moral purpose. For example, practitioners often draw on an ethic of care as evidence of their professionalism. However, the discourse of professionalism in…

This article provides an initial look at Race to the Top as it relates to professional development for arts educators. Topics include the philosophy of Race to the Top education reform, data informed professional development, performance pay, and how these changes may affect arts educators.

This article considers a number of issues facing those involved in counselling and psychotherapy training within United Kingdom Higher Education Institutes. It is proposed that the increasing professionalisation of counselling and psychotherapy has significant implications for lecturers and trainers. The article will explore the tension between…

This study examined changes in preschool teachers' perceptions of classroom management strategies following group training in the recently revised Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program (C. Webster-Stratton, 2006). The authors used a pre/post follow-up design across 2 groups that each met for 8 sessions over an 8-10-week period for…

Within these last 20 years, professional development schools (PDSs) have emerged and become, for many, the sine qua non of teacher preparation and professional development. Over the past decade, as PDSs increasingly became a focus of reform efforts and a subject of conversation, regional PDS conferences proliferated. As a result of these efforts,…

Professional development is a well-established component of teacher change, and action research can make that change visible. In this study, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 237 elementary teachers and intervention specialists from 33 federally-designated Appalachian counties of Southeastern Ohio who participated in the…

Nurses require ongoing opportunities to expand knowledge and skills; this expansion of knowledge and skills is one aspect of continued competence. One method that may be used to maintain and refine knowledge and skills is participation in continuing education activities. However, there has been little inquiry into creative strategies used in…

A principal can have the greatest effect on student achievement by improving the performance of the classroom teacher. School administrators may receive little instruction on how to supervise and manage teachers or improve their instruction in their university training, which can put a new administrator at a disadvantage when defining performance…

The profession of athletic training has opened its doors to women, who now slightly outnumber men in the profession (Shingles, 2001; WATC, 1997, 2005). Unfortunately, this representation does not carry over into positions of high rank. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of female head athletic trainers in…

States have been given flexibility under No Child Left Behind to create need-driven comprehensive school improvement plans with an approved accountability system, however those unable to show increased student learning will be deemed as failing. Schools labeled as failing require a comprehensive framework for improvement. Research has identified a…

This report presents the findings of a European research project jointly conducted by the University of East London (UEL) and the University of Ghent (UGent). The "study on competence requirements in early childhood education and care" (CoRe) explored conceptualisations of "competence" and professionalism in early childhood…

This fall, the nine states that finished as runners up in last year's groundbreaking Race to the Top competition will have an opportunity to reapply for a grant. The winners will receive a combined $200 million to help implement the bold education reform plans they developed last year. Many of the eligible states already have clear roadmaps toward…

The purpose of this study was to examine high school counselors' attitudes toward the sexuality of students with intellectual disabilities. One hundred and twenty-two high school counselors in Alabama were the participants for this study. Participants completed the "Attitudes towards Sexuality and Students with Intellectual Disability…

This study presents case studies of rural elementary schools in Hawaii that examine resource allocation strategies that promote student achievement. The combined frame work of the Evidence Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008) and the 10 Strategies for Doubling Student Performance (Odden, 2009) were utilized to compare actual school resources and…