The purpose of this study is to ascertain Botswana physical education (PE) student teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of children with disabilities in the general education classrooms and also to identify their concerns and perceived skill needs with regards to inclusion. A two-part questionnaire consisting of background variables and…

This study involving 120 Australian and Chinese teachers introduces a construct of teacher capacity to analyse how teachers help students connect arithmetic learning and emerging algebraic thinking. Four criteria formed the basis of our construct of teacher capacity: knowledge of mathematics, interpretation of the intentions of official curriculum…

Rural school consolidation has significantly changed the landscape of rural education in China. Based on a study carried out in nine provinces, this article analyzes the effect of this policy initiative. It has led to increased school dropout rates in rural schools.

With increased attention focused on the economic cache afforded through literacy and numeracy skills, governments around the world have turned their attention to developing the expertise of their teachers. Improving teachers' levels of competency leads to improvement in student achievement. In this qualitative case study, we focus on the…

Internationally, forms for teacher education (initial and continuing) are under the spotlight for change. This article briefly considers what is at issue and what opportunities might be available for moving towards "professionalisation" in the provision of outstanding teachers. In particular, it suggests how we should characterise the thinking…

This article reports the investigation of change in preservice teachers' conceptions of effective history teaching across a secondary history methods course in a postgraduate diploma of education program. Using concept mapping to plot shifts in their expressed reflections, data were obtained that indicate personal constructs of effective history…

In this descriptive study, we examined self-reported concerns of 159 music student teachers pre- and post-student teaching, over a period of 5 years. Resulting comments ("N" = 867) were analyzed on the basis of (a) stages of teacher concern (focus on self, subject matter [music and teaching], and students) modeled after Fuller and Bown…

This paper examines factors associated with middle school students' perceptions of the quality of the sexual health education (SHE) they received at school. Participants were 478 predominately White young people (256 girls, 222 boys) in grades 6-8 who completed a survey assessing their demographic characteristics; dating and sexual experience; and…

The adoption of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM) by nearly every state represents an unprecedented opportunity to improve U.S. mathematics education and to strengthen the international competitiveness of the American labor force. The mere adoption of the Common Core, however, will amount to little if it is not implemented…

Today's mathematics standards require teachers to use concrete math manipulatives (CMM) to increase the proficiency of students, but many upper elementary teachers fail to use these resources. The effects of this resource disuse may decrease student learning potential and impede successful standardized test results. This case study allows leaders…

As the internationally benchmarked Common Core State Standards, or CCSS, are adopted in states across the country, educators are seeking ways to support an increasingly diverse student population to meet these more demanding expectations. The likelihood that students will achieve the aims of the standards will be substantially shaped by how well…

Are graduates of teacher preparation programs adequately prepared with the skills and knowledge to teach in the 21st century classroom? This study consisted of a quantitative content analysis to investigate the presence of 21st century knowledge and skills within a stratified random sample of teacher preparation programs in the United States as…

The focus of the study, a replicative meta-analysis, was to provide educators and policymakers with an analysis of extant data collected from current research, 1996 to pre-"Race to the Top" (RttP) and "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" of 2009 (ARRA), concerning the question of whether or not a positive or negative effect…

Research indicates that many general education teachers have negative attitudes about the inclusion of students with disabilities. Ways to promote positive attitudes in preservice teachers are needed, particularly in Puerto Rico, where the autism identification rate is the highest in the world. The purposes of this concurrent mixed method study…

The purpose of this research was to explore the teacher self-efficacy beliefs of early childhood preservice educators and their preparedness to teach students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Phase One of this mixed-methods approach asked preservice early childhood educators (N = 34) to complete the short form of the "Teacher Sense of…