Many of the numerous innovations in physical education have the potential to enhance the status of physical education and physical educators. For example, curriculum models such as experiential education and sport education have reshaped content, learning outcomes, and assessment in physical education. In addition, these models are redefining how…

Teachers in high-needs settings working with diverse populations are typically cited as a central element for school improvement yet are often described as resistant to such efforts. We sought to investigate the reasons behind teachers' views and beliefs about school reform within the context of collaboration and professional development, rather…

Background: School culture is a system of shared orientations that holds a unit together and gives it a distinctive identity (Hoy, 1997). It is a multifaceted concept composed of different factors (Devos et al., 2004; Maslowski, 2001). Aim: The study both aimed to measure the realization rates of collaborative school culture in Turkish public…

Many major urban districts have committed large investments to school-based professional development anchored in the work of literacy coaches. At base is a shared belief that instructional coaches are key levers for improvement. Yet, clinical accounts of the role of an instructional coach suggest that this is a complex practice to implement well.…

Current debates concerning effective professional development for teachers of early reading have focused on the potential benefits of a literacy coach in providing sustained support and guidance for teachers' learning from a professional development program. In this study, we compare the response of first-grade teachers to a model of professional…

This study surveyed and compared support systems for poor readers in six member states of the European Union (EU). The goal was to identify features of effective support systems. A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among mainstream teachers (n = 4,210) and remedial teachers (n = 2,395). Results indicate that the six support systems…

The current study compares the responses and statements of English as a second language (ESL) and content area teachers in discussions about the instruction of English language learners (ELLs). A study on how these two sets of teachers understand the field is important because commonalities and differences in their opinions may have an impact on…

Through growing formative research, lesson study has emerged as a powerful practice that affects teachers' practical analysis of learning and teaching. Such research, however, also recognizes challenges to its implementation. In a methods course, lesson study has the potential to provide valuable links between teacher education and practice. In…

This study explores how activities developed by science experts in partnership with middle school teachers were employed and interpreted. The goals of this partnership were to (a) help the science teacher meet earth science content standards in new ways, (b) expose students to "real world" experiences outside their school setting, and…

This collaborative self-study explores the co-construction of professional teacher education knowledge through mentoring, framed within the notion of working in an interpretive zone. The study is set in a learning community established in a college of education where Ilana was the head of the elementary department and Edith served as a new…

Scholars have proposed that "the path to change in the classroom lies within and through" more collaborative professional communities among teachers (McLaughlin and Talbert, 1993: 18). How do different approaches to developing collaborative professional communities impact experienced teachers and their ability to change? This article identifies…

Rochelle Gutiérrez has spent 15 years researching effective, urban high school mathematics departments that served Black, Latin@ and low-income adolescents (see, e.g., Gutiérrez, 1996, 1999a, 1999b, 2000, 2002). These were schools where students took more mathematics than was required by their district; where English learners, recent immigrants,…

Though popular among children outside of school, Dutch teachers often struggle to offer technology integrated activities in the kindergarten classroom. Because involving teachers in development of technology integrated activities can support their implementation, this study examines teachers in the role of re-designing such activities. Two case…

In late 2006, the New Zealand Government embarked on a series of initiatives to explore how the resources and expertise of eight, small, state-owned science research institutes could be combined efficiently to support science teaching in schools. Programmes were developed to enable students and teachers to access and become involved in local…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore inservice teachers' definitions of project-based learning (PjBL) and their accounts on the meaning of their PjBL implementations. A purposive sample of six teachers from grades four through twelve in public and private schools participated. Three themes evolved from inductive analysis: (1)…