The "International Society for the Social Studies (ISSS) Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2016 proceedings: (1) The Emergence of Social Studies in Trinidad and Tobago (Leela Ramsook); (2) Opinions of…

The last two decades have witnessed the gradual implementation of integrated science curriculum at the junior secondary level in China. However, in most provinces of China, the implementation is not as successful as expected. Challenges were reported, yet without fine-grained investigation, with respect to science teachers' instruction on…

At the request of the Urban League of Miami, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) analyzed the distribution of teachers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In this paper, the authors examine teacher-level data to determine whether indicators correlated with teacher quality vary across the district based on socioeconomic differences, and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the teaching of AIDS education. The study was mainly concerned with the implementation of the AIDS education curriculum. In particular the study sought to investigate the attitudes held by trainers and trainees towards the subject and make suggestions to improve its teaching. The study was conducted in a…

The research looks at the phenomenon of composite classes as experienced by the Murezi community. To gather the required data and to have an in-depth understanding of the Murezi school experience, the case study was employed and the questionnaire, interview and on-site observations were employed as data gathering instruments. The three were used…

This qualitative study examined the experiences of special education teachers as they strove to improve their practice of teaching students with autism. Each participant had a minimum of one student with autism on their class roster. They were enrolled in a summer intensive workshop designed to educate special education teachers about…

Experts in the field have had a difficult time finding a conclusive set of attributes of high-quality gifted teachers using collaborative technology. The purpose of this multiple, exploratory case study was to examine the views of selected educators regarding the teacher characteristics and technology most relevant to the development of shared…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect over one-half million individuals under the age of 21. As the number of school-aged persons with these disorders continues to climb, so have concerns about identifying best practices for including ASD students in an inclusion class, since schools are often ill-equipped to educate ASD students effectively. The…

This study investigated an emerging language learning culture by examining the relationship between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and perceived efficacy in two cities in southern Texas. Drawing on Bandura's (1994) theory of self-efficacy and Ashton and Webb's (1986) notions about teacher efficacy, a multi-sited case study was conducted to explore…

The American Federation of Teachers Teacher Preparation Task Force was established to examine the research on what works and what does not work in the field of teacher preparation as a basis for making policy recommendations. Just as important, the task force considered how best to implement such policy recommendations in a way that takes into…

There is a growing consensus that teacher evaluation in the United States is fundamentally broken. Few would argue that a system that tells 98 percent of teachers they are "satisfactory" benefits anyone--including teachers. The nation's collective failure to invest in high-quality professional feedback to teachers is inconsistent with…

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

No one has a bigger stake in teaching effectiveness than students. Nor are there any better experts on how teaching is experienced by its intended beneficiaries. Only recently have many policymakers and practitioners come to recognize that--when asked the right questions, in the right ways--students can be an important source of information on the…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the impact of educational technology courses on pre-service teachers' development of knowledge of technology integration in a teacher preparation program in the USA. The present study was conducted with eight pre-service teachers enrolled in the elementary teacher education program at a large…

In this wide-ranging interview with Educational Leadership, Stanford University Professor of Education Linda Darling-Hammond discusses the kind of preparation and support new teachers need to survive their critical first years in the classroom. Among her central recommendations are more intensive mentoring that lasts through the first year of…