Data in this report reveals that collectively bargaining agreements are not the source of the teacher quality problem in urban school districts. The data shows that collective bargaining agreements are associated with reduced teacher transfer activity, especially in high-poverty schools, and less reliance on first-year teachers to staff…

Every year, thousands of new teachers pass through hundreds of different teacher preparation programs and are hired to teach in the nation's schools. In recent years, alternative programs have expanded rapidly. Despite the expansion of these new routes into teaching, little research exists to provide guidance on the effectiveness of different…

This paper asserts that the tenets of a constructivist educational philosophy best meet the needs of special needs students (e.g., those who are limited English speaking, bilingual, low income, and homeless). The first section presents the tenets of a constructivist teaching philosophy. The second section discusses the implementation of best…

This paper is part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002. It discusses teacher evaluation by principals. Specifically, it presents findings of research that examined the nature of policy creation at the local board level in response to accountability legislation in North…

This paper describes 10 factors that impact misguided perceptions of teacher preparation and teacher quality, especially elementary teachers prepared in highly-structured, university-based teacher preparation programs: (1) the offshoot of P-12 preparation, prior to attending postsecondary programs; (2) alignment of certification tests to state…

This report from the Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education (SPeNSE) focuses on working conditions that affect special education teachers and how teachers acquire needed professional skills. The report found: (1) 80% of special education teachers serve students with two or more primary disabilities; (2) almost one-fourth of students served…

This study was commissioned by SchoolNet Africa (SNA) in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA). It is the most extensive examination to date of teacher training in information and communication technology…

For all the conflict generated by various K-12 education reform efforts, there is one principle everyone agrees on: teachers need to know the subject matter they teach. This principle makes sense to parents, educators, and policy makers alike. On the importance of a teacher's knowledge the views range from those who believe subject knowledge to be…

Background: For ten years, the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) have served as the foundation for Connecticut's teacher certification in science and the expectations of teacher practice secondary science classrooms. Furthermore, beginning science teachers must demonstrate the ability to teach in an…

This paper addresses two elements of teacher education in the United Kingdom (UK): open learning partnerships and the use of new technologies to develop a model of preservice education and training. The Open University Postgraduate Certificate in Education (OU PGCE) is a part-time course emphasizing standards in teaching and involving partnerships…

This publication describes the new legal guidelines for teacher education and licensure in Ohio. The new standards ensure that only those teachers who can perform the work will do the work. The standards emphasize performance throughout the teacher's career. They strengthen Ohio's teacher preparation programs by requiring successful performance of…

This article discusses the impact of instructional television, directed study courses, and other alternative teacher certification methods. Colleges and universities are becoming aware of nontraditional programs that require minimal, if any, time on campus or direct contact with instructors. Soon, there will be a proliferation of Internet courses.…

This paper explores Hong Kong secondary teacher supply patterns related to teacher retention using data collected from 1991-99. Secondary teachers are classified into five categories by initial educational qualifications: registered Graduate Master (trained GM), who are university graduates with majors in a subject discipline; permitted Graduate…

This report assesses where America's Great City Schools (GCS) were on the National Urban Education goals in 1996-97 and how they compared to where they were in 1990-91. The National Urban Education Goals address the unique and pressing needs of urban schools and provide an enabling set of targets on the way toward achieving national goals. This…

This paper describes a process model for evaluating school-university partnerships. It presents one university's inter-collegial collaboration model for teacher content preparation, explains a process for documenting content and teaching proficiency via an electronic portfolio, and presents the evaluation process used in a multifaceted renewal…