Illustrates how teacher educators are caught up in ill-conceived, often contradictory policies and practices, providing examples of contradictory demands emanating from outside and within the academy. The paper discusses professional standards and how teacher shortages influence the way quality-control practices in teacher preparation are…

Based on ethnic group differences in Massachusetts Educator Certification Test (MECT) scores, argues that performance-based assessments should be as important as a paper-and-pencil test of cognitive and content skills. Asserts that rather than screening out minorities from the teaching force, the state should be looking for ways to ensure that…

Outlines a recommended sequence of necessary skills and applications to produce an electronic portfolio during the internship experience in a doctoral program in educational leadership at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte in order to increase technology competencies of students who are educational administrators. (LRW)

Discusses how teachers in higher education are taking a new look at teaching and course management as new teaching roles are learned in the virtual classroom for online learning environments, particularly as facilitators and mentors of learning communities. Considers principles for good practice and needed competencies for online teachers.…

Describes one school district's mandatory 2-hour workshop designed to certify substitute teachers. The workshop explains the district's expectations of substitute teachers, provides information and instructional techniques to facilitate learning and proper classroom control, and allows questions and concerns to be raised and clarified by…

Assessed the importance of knowledge and skill competencies in applied behavior analysis by experienced teachers of students with emotional-behavioral disorders (E/BD) who completed E/BD knowledge and skill competency rating scales. Teachers considered applied behavior analysis competencies very important to their teaching knowledge and skills.…

Reviews the reaction to the movement within the developmental education and learning assistance profession to create a national certification program for individuals. Provides a brief history of standards and certification in this field, responses from interviews with Hunter Boylan and David Arendale regarding individual certification, and poses…

Presents an overview of the Australian Science Teachers' Association/Monash Standards Project which aims to support the development of a national voluntary system to provide professional certification to teachers of science whose practice has attained high standards set by the profession. Discusses the place of this work within the wider context…

Outlines a process that uses recognized standards in educational measurement to validate behavioral indicators for personnel in early intervention. Results from Georgia's validation process are presented. Recommendations for future validations and use of behavioral indicators are highlighted. (Author/CR)

Gifted teachers possess a talent for generating an atmosphere of connectedness and focus in the classroom, and state standards emphasize the importance of student engagement. This article presents suggestions for teachers that can increase the chances that their students will be fully engaged during a lesson. The issues of time (length of…

Nationwide, the increased interest in teacher quality has been "the" topic of debate for educational policymakers, leading to a research focus on teacher certification. With the proliferation of alternative routes to teacher licensure, there is growing controversy surrounding the manner in which teachers are trained to obtain the level…

The idea of leaving no child behind may sound like a noble dream. But the federal law intended to fulfill that dream is in Houston's opinion so flawed that it has become a nightmare for educators. Sadly, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is a nightmare in which everyone is naked while being pushed off a cliff because of poor test performance.…

This article presents the findings of a research initiative which explored Greek teachers' perceptions and understandings on what constitutes social and emotional competencies and how these competencies can best be enhanced within the classroom. In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 elementary school teachers in two different geographical…

Teacher education in the United Kingdom, especially in England, has changed considerably over the past 20 years or so. The main purpose of this article is to analyse the direction and nature of these changes, using primary English work as a focus. The article uses snapshots of the provision in three institutions, each at a different time point, as…

Experienced English teachers can proactively help newcomers in their schools in different ways by relying on research and case studies that focus on the stated needs of new teachers. The efforts of a community of colleagues will serve to sustain newcomers so that they can gain confidence over time, refining their teaching proficiencies to…