In-service teacher education in China has traditionally been mainly lecture-centred, theory-orientated, and experience-led. For various contemporary reasons such an approach may not be effective since it is unlikely to provide a context in which teachers are able to put educational theories into practice. "Action Education", a…

This study examined to what degree the existing curricula, teaching practices, and assessments in 15 elementary physical education programs were aligned with the National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 1995) in the USA. Fifteen elementary physical education teachers voluntarily participated in this study. Data were gathered through…

The overall aim of this paper is to give an account of action learning in practice. It demonstrates the potential strengths and weaknesses of action learning. The information given is derived from five years in an action learning set. Significant events from within and without the action learning set will be explored using the themes clarifying;…

Background: It is widely claimed that critical reflection upon experience is a valuable process in which all teachers should engage in order to improve their professional practice. Assumptions are made about the benefits of reflection both for the teacher as person and professional; however, there is a lack of in-depth research on the reflective…

This article explores the question of how engaging in teacher inquiry within the context of a school-university partnership influences teachers' use of technology to enhance student learning. While striving to meet the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and performance indicators for teachers (Information Society for Technology in…

This article examines the disposition toward critical thinking of post-baccalaureate initial certification students at a Texas institution of higher education using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. The inventory characterizes seven subscales of critical thinking disposition and an eighth combined score for overall critical…

Changes in the requirements for training primary school teachers in England over the past 12 years have increasingly demanded more involvement from the schools themselves. University departments and schools have developed partnerships to implement these changes and teachers are increasingly finding themselves taking a key role in the training of…

The central theme of this article is that teachers' professional development in England is not being taken as seriously as it needs to be. With reference to the induction of newly-qualified teachers and the early professional development pilot schemes, it draws on data from several related pieces of research, to argue that cases of…

Many more teachers begin studying for masters' level awards than complete them. This situation is a concern to participants, providers and funders of courses. The research project reported here explores teachers' perceptions of factors affecting their success in completing assessed work. Questionnaire and interview responses from 46 students in…

The purpose of this study was to understand factors that make teacher professional development successful and what success might mean in terms of teachers' instructional practices and feelings about change. Specifically, this study focused on the impact of instructional resources on the large-scale curricular reform of 30 urban physical education…

The focus of this article is on the professional development of teachers in Irish-medium education in Northern Ireland, with attitudinal information collected from staff in Irish-medium schools on the range and quality of the professional in-service education and training (INSET) and support opportunities they have experienced. Fieldwork for the…

The Classroom Assessment Project to Improve Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) examined teacher change and development with regard to classroom assessment. The National Science Foundation supported the four-year effort to study how teachers modify their practices to create the conditions for the kinds of assessment that foster learning. The authors…

This article describes changes in the practice of two teachers, observed over an 18-month period, who were participating in a study intended to support teachers in developing their use of assessment in support of learning. The design of the intervention allowed each teacher to choose for themselves which aspects of their practice to develop.…

This paper explores a new pedagogical approach to teaching teachers to assume a learning or inquiry stance in their practice. It is based on an assumption that professional learning is a core capability of good teaching that is responsive to the changing needs of children, schools, and communities. One source of teacher learning is practice--one's…

Despite policy mandates to include students with disabilities in educational assessment and accountability programs, current practices suggest a substantial lack of capacity for effective inclusion. Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential component of disseminating and implementing effective inclusion practices. Recent reviews of…