This case study describes the impact of high-stakes testing on a first-year teacher's literacy instruction. Results indicated that content from literacy methods courses was often abandoned in favor of compliance to a test preparatory program. As an intervention, I began teaching in the third-grade classroom while the beginning teacher observed.…

Blaming unsatisfactory student achievement on the middle school concept is a case of mistaken identity. Too many middle schools have failed to fully implement the middle school concept. Based on statements from the Carnegie Council and the National Middle School Association, the middle school concept calls for improved academic achievement for all…

Perceptions of student/professor competence and the reasons for a "chilly" classroom were investigated through a survey of 2,042 students from seventy-seven liberal arts colleges. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests showed statistically significant different responses by gender for all the questions. The perceptions of competence survey showed mixed…

The purpose of this study was to describe the behaviors and beliefs of secondary general physical education (GPE) teachers relative to inclusion and teaching of students with disabilities. Participants were nine experienced high school GPE teachers from suburban school districts in California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The research method was…

What are the attributes of a high-quality early childhood education program worldwide? A group of experienced early childhood educators that represent diverse international backgrounds attempts to respond to this question by examining six dimensions of quality set forth by the Association for Childhood Education International: (1) philosophies and…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the reform efforts in the education system of Turkey and identify missing points of the reform process that was introduced in 2004. An overview of the Turkish educational system is briefly described, followed by the analysis of the reform's rational. This new curriculum is evaluated in terms of its missing…

The study investigated the efficacy of prospective teachers authoring and using their own online learning designs as a means of creating links between theory classes and their teaching practicum. Trainee primary and secondary teachers adopted an exemplary, well-researched learning design to inform their own specific task designs, and used them in…

In teacher education settings, the extent of collaboration is far less evident than in K-12 education. There is some evidence that suggests, however, that this may be changing. Teaming among higher education faculty has been identified as one way to provide teachers with greater exposure to diverse fields of knowledge and practice, as well as to…

Professional training in early childhood intervention (ECI), particularly additional certificates, degrees, or continuing education, is currently a major topic within European working groups. The complexity of ECI, including medical, pedagogical, psychological, and social involvement, the need for both family- and child-centered work, and the…

This study gathered data on Spanish public school teachers' use of existing technologies to teach culture. A questionnaire gathered data on teacher background, use of technology, competence to teach culture, the inclusion of culture courses in degree programs, and courses on teaching culture. Observations over a three-year period provided…

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 04) demonstrate a focused attempt by the U.S. Congress to improve the educational outcomes for students with disabilities through shared responsibility and accountability of both general and special educators. In this article, the author illuminates the…

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, as China's society and economy continue to develop and higher education undergoes further reform, higher education teacher training, which is crucial to building a teacher base in institutions of higher education and an effective means of tapping human resources, finds itself at an historic turning point.…

As reformers urge elementary and secondary school teachers to teach mathematics in new ways that highlight problem solving and engage students in important mathematical ideas, researchers have been pointing out that few public school teachers know mathematics in the ways that they would need to know it in order to teach in these new ways. These…

In an effort to provide prospective teachers with chances to reflect on their professional competence, and to demonstrate their teaching effectiveness and growth, the teacher education program at California State University, Los Angeles, decided to require students to develop portfolios. All students were introduced to the portfolio format during…

Many external factors will influence classrooms as the year 2000 approaches. This paper looks at a vision of what schools may look like in the year 2000, with classrooms where information will be accessed, processed, displayed, demonstrated, and communicated through multimedia. There will be two different types of classroom: the master classroom,…