Although action research in education offers researchers and practitioners a clear and philosophically appealing way of making improvements, fostering learning, and developing the individual and the organization, adherents sometimes find themselves defending this type of research because it has been practiced without appropriate rigor. This book…

Teacher study groups (TSGs) contribute to professional development when participants explore, articulate, and extend their personal professional knowledge in a supportive setting. In this study of cultural variables in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom, tensions among aspects of professional accountability and responsibility…

This book makes a case for the value of National Board Certification (NBC), describing the components of the process. It emphasizes the importance of working in groups so that group members can provide multiple interpretations of student work or videos in ways that enrich a candidate's analysis as well as the group's learning. It also suggests…

This essay discusses professional development as a capacity-building strategy. It raises questions about various approaches to capacity building, including the emphasis on professional development. It states that despite self-reports and surveys, scant, if any, replicable empirical evidence relates professional development to changes in teacher…

Over the past 40 years, the Head Start program has delivered early education and support services to 23 million low-income preschool children and their families. In addition to early education, Head Start programs must provide children and families with access to a range of comprehensive services, including parenting resources, health screenings…

Despite a plethora of writings on Australian Aboriginal education (Craven, 1998; Fanshawe, 1999; LeRoux & Dunn, 1997; Malcolm, 1998; Malin, 1998; Morgan & Slade, 1998; Partington, 1998; Russell, 1999; Stewart, 1999), little has dealt with teacher perceptions of how Indigenous students learning in comparison with non-Indigenous students.…

The authors examined a narrative approach that may lead to improvements as faculty develop their skills to use the internet for delivery of instruction. The design of this study relied on an interview process that empowered both researchers to create their own narratives as they constructed their concerns and motivations about online pedagogy. The…

In this comprehensive manual, author Peter Gow helps schools become communities where teachers are nurtured "from raw recruits into seasoned, effective, and even beloved professionals." Peter Gow, academic dean at Beaver Country Day School (MA), lays out a step-by-step approach to building and keeping a strong faculty, a school's greatest asset.…

Key findings from the first Interim Report are highlighted in this executive summary, evaluating the extent to which the Partnership Program has improved teacher quality. The ultimate goal of the program is to improve student achievement by increasing the quality of teachers. Data were collected during the years 2001-2003, addressing the first 2…

This case study chronicled ways that one Professional Development School (PDS) partnership implemented peer coaching as a vehicle for promoting collaboration in order to improve classroom instruction. In the first phase of a 4-year study, teachers, administrators, and university faculty developed procedures for creating peer coaching teams and…

This collection of essays is a theoretical and practice-oriented treatment of how culture and race influence African American teachers. After an introduction, "The Common Experience" (Jacqueline Jordan Irvine), there are eight chapters in two parts. Part 1, "The Salience of Race and Culture on Teachers and Teaching: Research and Theory," includes…

This paper addresses issues related to the development and preservation of tacit knowledge (i.e., institutional knowledge rooted in actions and experiences) for technology integration. Results of a 1999 survey of teacher preparation programs in Texas are presented. The survey asked administrators in colleges of education to identify skills that…

This paper describes an experimental course that modeled a teamed approach in preparing future school leaders centered on teacher professional development. Participants included representatives from the key stakeholder groups in teacher professional development (beginning and experienced teachers, future teacher educators, and future…

This paper describes an effort by Manhattan College, New York, and its consortium of partners (a local school district, the Archdiocese of New York, Apple Computer, and Educational Video Conferencing) to ensure the availability of technology-proficient educators in the area's inner city schools, where the digital divide is most prominent. A TITAN…

This study investigated teachers' opinions of the effectiveness of various professional development activities influencing their attention to students' thinking. The teachers' entry characteristics, nature of the activities themselves, and teachers' ratings of the activities are focused in the study. Teachers (n=110) were surveyed to rate each…