This speech highlights new ways to improve teacher quality. It was prepared following a national search for models of excellence that addressed the training needs of teachers at every stage of their careers. Section 1, "Missing the Mark in Recruiting New Teachers," discusses the need to prepare the next generation of teachers, since in the next 10…

This report presents an overview of training courses for further education lecturers in the United Kingdom and offers observations on developments in the field of further education lecturer training. Recommendations of previous reports concerning the training of further education lecturers are analyzed, and the current situation is examined.…

This guide outlines the 33 standards that professional teacher preparation programs in California must meet in order to issue multiple and single subject teaching credentials with a (Bilingual) Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD/BCLAD) emphasis. It also provides background information on bilingual education in the United…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) The "Data Wise" Improvement Process: Eight Steps for Using Test Data to Improve Teaching and Learning (Kathryn Parker Boudett, Elizabeth A. City,…

More states are recognizing that preschool is a vital first step toward helping children succeed in school. Ensuring that preschoolers have a high quality early learning experience provides them with the skills they need for later school success. In New Jersey, the poorest school districts have been collaborating with community-based child care…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Senate Committee Provides $3.2 Billion Increase for Education Programs: Final Budget Not Expected Until After…

Background: Online learning community based education is still new. As institutions implement new programs they can encounter learner satisfaction issues. Purpose: To investigate learner unhappiness during the second semester of a new online doctoral program and develop a substantive grounded theory concerning its cause(s). Setting: The Doctorado…

This first annual report details North Carolina's performance and progress in five areas of its First in America goals: high student performance (every student in school and making strong progress, every graduate ready for college and work, and every school accountable for student learning); every child ready to learn (every child with access to…

This guide helps parents understand the issues of teacher quality, suggesting ways they can strengthen teacher quality in their children's schools. In order to ensure that students meet new, higher standards, teachers must be better prepared to promote high levels of learning for all students. Research has shown that many teachers do not feel…

This report examines the need for ongoing support of teachers as professionals, offering concrete steps that presidents or chancellors can take to improve their programs. It highlights: "A Call for Action"; "What Can University Presidents Do To Best Assure a Competent, Caring and Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom?"; "Why Focus on Professional…

This book, a commentary on becoming a teacher, presents a set of essays based on observations of a group of young, white, middle class female teachers learning what it means to be alone at the head of the classroom. It presents a textured picture of the development of competence. The picture is organized around the complications of ordinary life…

Rasch measurement can provide a much needed solution to scaling teacher ability. Typically, decisions about teacher ability are based on dichotomously scored certification tests focused on knowledge of content or pedagogy. This paper presents early developmental work of a partial credit teacher ability scale of 42 tasks (performances and…

This paper uses the case study method to describe the characteristics of Japanese school-based inservice teacher training programs, which are designed to help teachers improve their competence and the quality of their teaching activities. Data come from observations of and interviews with teachers in classrooms within 10 public elementary schools.…

This study compared the success of traditionally prepared student teachers with contextually prepared students from Project Opportunity, which was designed to develop a sense of community among student teachers and between student teachers and college faculty and the faculty, staff, and students of partner schools. Groups of students were surveyed…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 4-year federally funded project to improve the capacity of state, regional, and local educational services to meet the needs of learners with deaf-blindness and their families throughout the state of Tennessee. The project provided individualized technical assistance and support to…