Problems of fit among five streams of educational reform and prevailing configurations of teachers' professional development are identified. It is argued that the dominant training-and-coaching model is not adequate for the requirements of present reform initiatives. Criteria are presented for assessing professional development policies and…

Discusses ongoing ethnographic research on interpersonal caring at an inner-city elementary school. Analyzes the perceptions of teachers, parents, teaching assistants, and students concerning how they describe what acting in the best interest of others means. Considers issues that may hinder the construction of shared meaning. (JB)

Develops a framework for promoting effective coaching, in the sense of encouraging children's achievement, in community settings for children of different ages. Effective coaches perform the following tasks: (1) teach; (2) assess performance; (3) structure the learning environment; and (4) provide social support. (SLD)

Examines accelerating trend in colleges and universities toward emphasis on research. Comments that prestige and funding accrue from research, not teaching. Analyzes factors in the decline of communicating knowledge as lighter teaching loads result in cost escalation and fewer course offerings. Argues the balance between scholarship and teaching…

Examines influence of various organizational constraints on nature of secondary school academic track decisions, which are categorized on basis of difference between actual and predicted program enrollment. Discusses factors such as who makes demands for an academic track, who controls the tracking process, what principals expect, degree of…

Contrasts the author's experience as a public school student in Nigeria with his experiences in a public high school in a suburb of Washington (DC). In spite of poor funding, institutional bias, and cultural differences, the student believes that his Nigerian education was superior in atmosphere conducive to academic achievement. (SLD)

Describes the philosophy and operation of the Danish Tvind Schools, private schools supported in part by public funds. Explains how the curriculum involves student travel, participation in curriculum decision making, and school management. Reviews the implicit criticisms of traditional schooling that the experiences of the Tvind Schools…

Reviews the educational system and developments in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union since World War II. Contends that reforms that brought intellectual freedom and pluralistic thinking have led to demands for autonomy from government control. Concludes that education is still linked to socio-economic, cultural, and political struggles…

Provides descriptive information about and reactions of 110 high school students to peer groups in urban high schools serving predominantly African-American students. Schools can encourage positive attitudes toward students who are academically inclined. Schools need a more comprehensive understanding of peer groups to minimize the influence of…

The relationships among student achievement, student culture, and educational practitioners' attitudes and expectations were investigated for 20 Mexican-American middle school students with the assistance of 12 teachers and 2 administrators. Findings indicate that these students, whether high or low achieving, perceived themselves, and were…

Apartheid policies adversely affected the health and social status of South African children. South Africa adopted the conceptual framework of the health promoting schools network (HPSN) to address school health comprehensively. The HPSN emphasizes school environment, community involvement, policy development, and appropriate health and social…

Explores the role of institutionalized violence in one young lesbian's decision to drop out of high school. Casting this young woman as a school failure masks the school's unwillingness to interrupt everyday practices (errors of alienation, omission, and repression) that diminished her sense of self and learning capacity. (29 references) (MLH)

A review of five types of bilingual programs finds that maintenance and dual-language programs best foster bilingualism, academic achievement, and cultural pluralism, but program implementation and organization also determine effectiveness. Input from bilingual teachers indicates that building administrators must develop and communicate a clear…

Two chapters of a serialized book develop the idea that attention-deficit disorder is created by the conventional school's rigid enforcement of a spirit-deadening "order" that suppresses children's natural behaviors. Anecdotes from Albany's Free School describe incidents in which two very active and intelligent boys developed some…

Utilizes the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to delineate four basic personality types and their corresponding learning styles. Compares student's learning style with professor's teaching style. Suggests options for improving instruction by offering teaching and grading strategies that better accommodate student personality types and learning…