This paper describes findings of a study that examined several dimensions of school functions--policy making, decision making, structure building, and relation building--to determine how they contributed to or hindered the development of a caring culture in a suburban middle school in a large midwestern city. The study also examined four arenas or…

As the nation gears up for a massive educational restructuring, a major issue regarding thousands of teachers who function at substandard levels has yet to be addressed, and even the latest educational restructuring proposals show little concern for this problem. Indicators of marginality include failure to maintain discipline, difficulties in…

A pilot study describes the prototype design and classroom implementation of "Kid's Space," a response-based multimedia application for literature teaching and learning. "Kid's Space" was designed around the metaphor of a universe populated by the individual student's world. Each world supports a variety of personal spaces in…

Although some research data support the view that a "caring learning community" is important to student outcomes, there is a lack of literature describing the administrative behaviors that create such a community. This paper describes findings of a study that identified the behaviors used by teachers to create a caring learning…

The present study investigated the interaction between college student entry characteristics and effective instruction. The experimental design involved 380 introductory psychology students and consisted of a Lecture Organization (low, high) by Test Anxiety (low, moderate, high) 2 x 3 design. The dependent variables included student attention,…

A study explored ways that three university-based and two middle-school-based teachers might begin to alter or interrupt discursive practices that have in the past permitted inequities in classroom talk about text to go unexamined and unchanged. A feminist theoretical frame guided the study's focus on gender as a lens for examining power…

This paper, the personal recollections of an experienced New York City public school teacher and emeritus professor of education, makes some points about "ebonics" and Black students. The paper states that when Black students in a district are assigned to special education out of proportion to their numbers, there is a fundamental…

A study examined the construct of "perceived caring" in the instructional context which is believed to be related to the classical construct of "good will" in Aristotelian rhetorical theory as well as more contemporary social scientific views of "intent toward receiver" in conceptualizations of source credibility. The…

An exploratory study was conducted at the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) to document the knowledge of students held by a small number of highly effective primary school teachers and to identify the ways these teachers acquired their knowledge and used it during classroom instruction. This paper presents the findings of the…

This study examined elementary teacher candidates' understanding of how history is "made" by historians and how texts are analyzed in the process of historical inquiry. Interviews with three elementary student teachers enrolled at a large southwestern state university indicated that they all had a markedly limited background in academic history.…

This paper reports a fragment from a recent investigation into student perceptions of effective teaching practices. The larger inquiry sought to ascertain which instructional methods, strategies, and activities employed by teachers are perceived as effective learning experiences by students. Specifically, this study focuses on the characteristics…

Offering glimpses into an English teacher's unorthodox teaching style, this book presents the story of one woman's dedication to her energetic, unruly students and challenges teachers to find their own unique genius within personal and institutional limitations. The book discusses how the teacher (who has spent her entire career at one school)…

This paper provides practical advice on reviewing and designing disciplinary procedures and is set in the context of incorporation of further education and sixth form colleges in England. Reasons are provided for having disciplinary rules, based on the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service's (ACAS) Code of Practice. Relevant English…

Being a teaching professional is a complex task within the social and organizational context in which teachers work. A model, "Variability of Developmental Needs within a Teaching/Learning Situation," provides a visual picture of the wide variety of students, typically in the broad but "average range" of knowledge,…

The search for knowledge about effective teachers has produced a great deal of research activity utilizing a variety of research techniques. This paper discusses research on national Teachers of the Year (Shanoski and Hranitz, 1989, 1990, 1991) and relates it to the teacher effectiveness clusters identified by Donald Cruikshank (1990) in his study…