Investigated Australian teachers' experience with and skill in information technology. Surveys of elementary and secondary teachers from 400 schools indicated that teachers believed they had basic but not advanced computer skills. They reported low levels of knowledge about information technology developments, identified barriers to using…

This article discusses the need for educators to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to help students with severe disabilities from mainstream groups to develop cross-cultural knowledge, values, and competencies. It outlines goals for multicultural understanding for educational researches, for teacher educators, and for school leaders and…

Effective management is the foundation from which learning can occur. In addition to its impact on student learning, the ability to manage effectively is an important factor in teacher job satisfaction. Management struggles have been linked to teacher stress and burnout and to an inability to care about students. In this study, the authors…

Elementary- and secondary-school teachers in the United States traditionally have been compensated according to salary schedules based solely on experience and education. Concerned that this system makes it difficult to retain talented teachers and provides few incentives for them to work to raise student achievement while in the classroom, many…

Graduates of teacher education programs throughout the nation must pass state-mandated standardized paper-and-pencil exit tests to become certified teachers. This study examines the relationship between the reading levels of preservice teachers enrolled in a south Texas university and their scores on the Texas Examinations of Educator…

Over several decades the major thrust in the school sector of countries across the world has been the search for ways in which teachers can be convinced that ICT should be an integral part of their teaching strategy. Various approaches have been tried including the dissemination of good practice and the investment in infrastructure and equipment.…

This article reports findings from an action research project investigating the impact creating writing portfolios has on preservice teachers' understanding of writing portfolio assessment. Participants included 92 preservice teachers enrolled across four different sections of an introductory literacy class. Data sources included: preservice…

This article poses an alternative to traditional teacher education methods of preparing reading specialists in university programs focused solely on outcomes. An equally important issue to explore is that of process and how candidates are prepared. Studying outputs with limited attention to process factors leaves teacher educators with incomplete…

In 1998, California state legislation called for significant reform in the preparation of teachers. As a result, institutions of higher learning must now conduct a formal performance-based assessment. All teacher candidates must participate in the assessment at the end of the program for receipt of the preliminary teaching credential. The…

In this year's Distinguished Educator department, we feature six educators whose research has focused on the role of early literacy in early childhood education. Each of the six addresses a vitally important aspect of early childhood literacy teaching and learning. Sections include: "Working with Families as Partners in Early Literacy," by Dorothy…

The environmental education field in Mexico is a relatively new social space characterized by wide discursive proliferation and organized by regional hegemonies. In this context, a plurality of identification processes has taken place. There is not a singular environmental educator identity but a multiplicity of local definitions. In this paper, I…

This paper is part of a broader study that draws on Wenger's (Wenger, E.: 1998, "Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity", Cambridge University Press, New Work) social practice perspective to investigate teacher learning. The study extends Wenger's complex model of interrelated components of learning (as meaning, practice,…

During the past 10 years, the level of technology in schools has increased with tremendous speed. Accessible through that medium is a body of information that will double in 6 years and quadruple in 12. Before teachers have mastered one type of technology, school administrators are stacking old computers in workrooms or behind stage curtains. Just…

Teacher performance evaluation plays a key role in educational personnel reform, so it has been an important yet difficult issue in educational reform. Previous evaluations on teachers failed to make strict distinction among the three dominant types of evaluation, namely, capability, achievement, and effectiveness. Moreover, teacher performance…

The presentation is based on the ongoing research project The Pedagogical Formation of Early Childhood Education in Finland. The data of the first stage consists of all written kindergarten teacher training curricula drawn up in 1973-2002. The aim is to discover the nature of the expertise that the kindergarten teacher training programmes…