In light of the complexity and wealth of information in societies today, the notion of organizational learning has become the forerunner of school change discourse. However, organizational learning is still characterized by mystical and amorphous rhetoric, understood well neither by researchers nor by practitioners. Therefore, this article is an…

Purpose: This article aims to set the scene for this Special Issue on beginning principals and to inform one's understanding of how new principals manage their work lives to make a difference in their schools. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent literature on beginning principals, the paper draws together and analyses issues encompassing…

Sixteen years ago, the author was the sole librarian at a suburban Chicago elementary school, teaching 24 classes a week to 450 students. She was overwhelmed and alone, and there was nobody in the building who really understood what she was going through. Although she regularly met with 15 fellow district librarians to review broad topics such as…

This summative evaluation examines a pilot program supporting beginning science and mathematics teachers through mentoring. It includes mentors' and mentees' expectations of the outcomes of participation in the program and their perceptions of the success of their mentoring relationships across the latter part of the 2008 school year. As well,…

The Delaware Education Research and Development Center (DERDC) conducted a two-part study to determine the impacts of this program on participating schools in the state. In the first part, DERDC interviewed a sample of administrators and teachers from 6 of the 15 participating schools. Their responses helped design a survey that was administered…

In "Effective Literacy Coaching: Building Expertise and a Culture of Literacy," literacy experts Shari Frost, Roberta Buhle, and Camille Blachowicz provide more than 50 practical activities designed to help K-12 literacy professionals: (1) Assess the current literacy program; (2) Plan changes that will foster a culture of literacy; (3) Collaborate…

This article provides a model for developing and sustaining relationships that can lead to ongoing school academic success. Leaders can successfully engender positive relationships and develop healthy organizational cultures that advance powerful teaching and learning by focusing on the six relationship connectors described in this article. As…

Several contexts and themes of professionalism are considered including the nature of "professional issues," professionalism, and writing about professional issues. The professional issues discussed are the socio-political and cultural contexts, systems, employment, career development, relationships with other professionals, and the self. Next, I…

Overseas student-teaching is becoming increasingly popular among American college students. Unfortunately, relatively little is known empirically regarding how these students find their experiences-academically or outside of the teaching classroom. Consequently, the present research study used rigorous qualitative methods in order to appraise…

Physics education reform movements should pay attention to feminist analyses of gender in the culture of physics for two reasons. One reason is that feminist analyses contribute to an understanding of a "chilly climate" women encounter in many physics university departments. Another reason is that feminist analyses reveal that certain styles of…

With nearly four decades of National Council for the Social Studies conferences under his belt, the author reflects on the valuable networking and stimulating sessions he attended, and highlights key educational websites from the increasingly technologically-adept exhibits. Here, he describes five websites that can be useful resources for…

This paper examines the processes whereby two researchers developed their knowledge in teaching a course for preservice teachers. We sought to explore the ways in which class assignments encouraged preservice teachers to develop their abilities to see classrooms from the point of view of nascent teachers rather than that of successful students.…

This qualitative study explored school social workers' relationships during instances of abuse and neglect reporting, focusing on reports made for children and adolescents already receiving school social work services. Although school social workers frequently file abuse and neglect reports, little is known about how they manage clinical and…

The theoretical explication of the meaning of relationships in women's lives by researchers at the Stone Center for Developmental Services at Wellesley College brings a rich dimension to the topic of women mentoring women. Rather than trying to understand the development of a "separate self," the Stone Center group has been exploring the…

Many local education agencies, as well as independent school districts, are currently designing induction programs for beginning teachers. One feature of these induction programs is the appointment of a mentor or sponsor teacher. This review is designed to summarize existing literature from the teaching profession on the mentoring relationship in…