Public schools routinely require permission or release forms for field trips and other activities of potential liability. The legal status of such forms varies, but they are generally considered neither rock-solid protection nor legally valueless in terms of immunity. This article presents a case involving a student who sustained bicycle injuries…

If successful school reform rests largely on the capabilities of individual teachers and groups of teachers to deliver high-quality instruction, then a key component of teacher workforce development is teacher learning. One of the prominent ways in which educational leaders shape school conditions and teaching practices is through their beliefs…

Western preschools and schools find it important to nurture democracy. However, in order to succeed in nurturing democracy, democratic ideas must be implemented in all situations. Education alone, therefore, is not enough. All children must experience real influence over their situations, and experience the opportunity for self-determination in…

Current demands for professionalism from society are great, and future educators are concerned that they do not have the stamina and resources to fulfill their personal roles. This research examines 453 reflective writings of 151 preservice teachers, child and youth care providers, and counselors who, despite being asked to identify how their…

Today there has been a shift in the organizational structure in our schools (Murphy and Seashore Louis, 1999). These include educational leadership shifts in roles, relationships, and responsibilities; the alteration of traditional patterns of relationships; and the fact that authority tends to be less hierarchical. Senge (1990) believes systems…

Based on semi-structured interviews with high school teachers in Edmonton, Alberta, the reported study examined teachers' attitudes towards their roles and responsibilities in marketing their school, and the perceived impact of educational markets upon teachers' well-being. The teachers define marketing negatively and narrowly, resist any…

Many families in Boston, especially the immigrant ones, are unable to navigate the Boston Public Schools system and offer their children the education they could have. In this article, the author shares how the learning and support she obtained from Citizen Schools has helped her navigate through high school and in life. Citizen Schools is an…

Evidence suggests that student teaching is one of the most influential components of a teacher education program, and the cooperating teacher exerts the greatest influence on a student teacher. Therefore, it is vital to understand how the role of experienced teachers is affected by the implementation of a professional development school (PDS) as…

Purpose: This paper aims to discuss how public school administrators with a social justice perspective have an obligation to permeate society beyond their schools and how they might address the perilous politics associated with advocating social change. Using George Counts' landmark 1932 speech, Dare the School Build a New Social Order? as the…

This paper examines the challenges faced as higher education institutions consider integrating their commitment to service with their commitment to diversity efforts. Findings from four case studies of small- and medium-size private institutions explore the connections and divergences among institutional mission, campus leadership, curriculum…

This study assessed the perceptions of school psychologists toward effectiveness and use of instructional adaptations in inclusive classrooms with the Adaptation Evaluation Instrument (AEI; Schumm & Vaughn, 1991). The sample included 59 regular members of the Texas Association of School Psychologists (TASP). Items receiving the highest and…

Though the utilization of special education paraprofessionals has increased, contemporary literature and research highlight a series of concerns about the field's continuing reliance on this approach. This article presents a three-component administrative model for effective utilization of paraprofessionals that includes paraprofessional supports,…

A cacophony of voices is continuing to place mandates on education and yet the voices of teachers are seldom heard. Teacher education can attempt to address this issue by facilitation of advocacy experiences via service-learning. The experiential and transformative nature of service-learning is illustrated through three case studies in which…

This qualitative study presents findings from initial exploratory work that examined how father development workers (FDWs) supported fathers to become involved in their children's learning, within the context of father groups. The study found that there were two main purposes behind the father groups and the subsequent role of FDWs in supporting…

Many small Christian colleges and universities are changing their cultures from focusing solely on teaching to embracing a teacher-scholar model. Motivating faculty at these small colleges to engage in scholarly activities is becoming one of the top priorities of administration. The culture at private colleges with enrollments of less than 5000 is…