Although child caregivers make a major contribution to children's development and to the health and well-being of their communities, they remain underpaid and undervalued. Written for entry-level and experienced child care teachers and providers, this book presents information on the child care occupation and includes tools to help teachers and…

Institutions of higher education must find ways to develop the expertise needed to teach in the online world. Rather than address the technology as a separate set of skills that can be addressed separately through workshops, this paper makes the case for approaches that consider how course content, pedagogical values, representations, and…

Community colleges recognize the need to plan and implement change through professional development, particularly in light of the constantly changing environment in the community college. This digest briefly examines four of the delivery methods being employed by community colleges in the field of professional development. Between 1999 and 2002,…

This digest briefly reviews connections among the literature on the adoption of innovations, technology integration, and the value of reflection in encouraging educators to explore the integration of new educational technologies into their current teaching practices. An approach to prompting reflection is described, which uses structured guidance…

This is a report on the 2001 survey results of community college presidents, administered by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The AACC utilized the George B. Vaughan Career and Lifestyle Survey (CLS) to gather information on these community college leaders. The study surveyed 936 presidents of public American community…

Teacher retention and renewal are critical issues facing school districts across the United States. The Vale Imperial Project in Science (VIPS) in Imperial County, CA has served as a catalyst to develop a strong and collaborative partnership between the 14 participating geographically isolated, rural school districts and the local university, San…

This document reports on a workshop held January 4-5, 1996. Participants of this conference represented the areas of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) education and attempted to develop questions regarding systemic education reform. Contents include: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Evaluation Questions…

Equity of access is one of the American Library Association's (ALA's) five key action areas. Discussions of digital divide issues sometimes sound confusing and unfocused; however, the digital divide issue provides information professionals with the opportunity to discover more about their own skills and potential, to understand more about library…

This monograph is the result of a one-year qualitative study conducted by the National Institute for Science Education (NISE) of reform-oriented interventions, structures, and relationships in preservice and inservice education of teachers of science and mathematics. The study investigated 61 initiatives of reform activity involving teachers of…

The debate over how to prepare a new generation of teachers has reached a fever pitch in education and policy communities. This policy brief takes the viewpoint that quality alternative certification programs (ACPs) offer ways to develop a broader pool of prospective teachers while helping states address concerns about teacher development,…

Since technology use in schools has been increasing, teachers want to maximize its use in their classroom to increase student learning. Therefore, accreditation requirements for colleges include integrating computer and information technology with teacher education and professional development programs. This paper describes different models for…

This study investigates the influence of reflective journal writing paired with inquiry-based science instruction on preservice teachers' beliefs about science and science teaching. Students who enrolled in the integrated science course participated in journal writing and surveys. The course design was developed along educational change models…

For the past five years, colleagues in the Strategic Literacy Initiative at WestEd have been designing and implementing a professional development program focused on enabling teachers to build their understanding of the complexities of reading. In developing this program, centered around what they call a "Reading Apprenticeship"…

An important first step toward more effectively addressing the complexities of child care as a service for families and as an employment setting for workers in California is to develop a detailed picture of the child care workforce. On this premise, a study examined licensed family child care provider demographics, professional preparation, length…

The growing demand for guidance on teaching about the world religions in U.S. high schools and colleges over the past few years prompted the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) to devote its seventh annual History Institute, April 2001, to exploring the topic. The institute brought together university faculty and 44 high school teachers from…