Leadership is a vital skill called for by the school counseling profession. However, limited research has been done to examine how leadership is characterized by practicing school counselors. The purpose of the exploratory study in this article was to assess leadership practices of school counselors, and to analyze the relationships among…

This study explored preservice teachers' perceptions of an electronic portfolio intended to develop their reflective skills and to serve as a basis for initial teacher certification. Eight preservice teachers in a teacher education program participated in a semi-structured interview. Most participants thought that the portfolio served as a record…

Group exercise leader certifications often include a written, as well as a practical, component. In order to prepare candidates for certification, some organizations offer workshops before the examination. However, candidates are expected to have prior experience in leading group exercise. Undergraduate fitness leadership classes can be an…

Though not extensively researched, third-party employee competency certifications are increasingly important to organizations. Certifications are double-edged: they may serve to reduce transaction costs, enhance performance, and foster employee development; but they can also be used as "credentials" to gain prestige, rewards, or influence. The…

School social workers often face challenges of having to legitimize their presence as a school professional, especially as compared to school psychologists and school counselors. Why are school social workers more often vulnerable to being underappreciated and not understood by school personnel than other mental health-based school professionals?…

This paper identifies the key factors that contribute to the Open School in India students' satisfaction, considering student support elements at pre-entry, start up, learning, evaluation and certification and after certification phases. The study adapted Rekkedal and Eriksen's importance-satisfaction model to recognise areas that are important to…

This article analyzes current education policy initiatives from the political Right in the United States, focusing on initiatives at the federal level (standards and testing), the state level (funding), the local level (alternative certification), and the campus level (censorship). Each initiative has received wide bipartisan and public support,…

Forty-seven states have adopted a pathway to teaching, alternative to the standard state certification otherwise required. But is alternative certification impairing student learning? That is ultimately the justification for traditional teacher certification. To see which states have established genuine alternative certification programs and which…

This study analyzed the quality of brailled instructional materials transcribed by 40 public school personnel. The authors calculated the correlation of the certification status of the personnel and the average amount of time spent transcribing per week with the total number of transcription errors. The findings suggest that students who read…

The "2003 National Science Teachers Association Standards for Science Teacher Preparation" (NSTA-SSTP) were developed to provide guidelines and expectations for science teacher preparation programs. This article is the second in a special "JSTE" series on accreditation written to assist science teacher educators in meeting the "NSTA-SSTP" and to…

This article focuses on the period between 1966 and 1968, when the original vision of the policymakers of the National Teacher Corps (NTC) and the federal staffers who created the NTC initiative held sway. In their vision, the "best and brightest" (according to their criteria) could better solve the problems of educating so-called disadvantaged…

In this study, we consider the efficacy of a relatively new and widely accepted certification system for teachers established by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). We utilize an extensive database covering the universe of teachers and students in Florida for a four-year span to determine the relationship between NBPTS…

This study investigates teacher content knowledge of candidates enrolled in an online graduate teacher certification programme. Descriptive data and linear regression were used to draw conclusions about the content area knowledge of individuals in the sample and the significance of the predictors examined. Descriptive data show 1/3 of the 8-12…

Lured by the recognition that comes with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, many schools and universities have become aware of that certification process. But for years, the involvement was limited to a few trendsetters; according to the Green Building Council's database, only about…

English language learners (ELLs) in K-12 schools continue to increase in number across the country. In California alone, about 1.5 million students are not sufficiently proficient in English to perform optimally in mainstream classrooms. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 emphasizes the need for highly qualified teachers, but just who is…