The issues discussed in these four papers concern the validity and generalizability of classroom observation instruments. These issues have been studied and are reported here in an attempt to better define the limits to which classroom observation instruments can be used in researching relationships between teacher behavior and student outcome.…

This paper consists of an examination of current thinking on the factors influencing teacher training effectiveness and of a report of preliminary findings from a study of inservice teacher education. Previous research identifies five major components of training common to most inservice programs as presentation of theory, demonstration or…

To manage classrooms successfully, teachers must monitor carefully the relationships between their own actions and those actions' intended and unintended results, since erroneous perceptions of these relationships can cause problems. Teachers can act inappropriately when their goals are mistaken, as for instance when they develop false…

Five ethnographic researchers worked with five elementary school teachers to develop individualized research topics related to teaching in multiethnic classrooms. The teachers were familiar with the ethnographers, having participated in previous naturalistic studies in their newly desegregated schools. Subjects included two teachers from a…

Generic teaching knowledge and skill is seen as a central component of preservice teacher education programs. Generic domains of teaching are the common base of knowledge and skills important to all teachers regardless of subject matter or grade level. Most classifications of generic teaching skills fall generally into one of two categories, one…

By examining the attitudes and perceptions of 1625 fifth grade students in North Carolina, this study tested the hypothesis that the way teachers treat their students can have an effect on their political attitudes. It was found that when teachers treat students fairly and show interest in their ideas and problems, students are less politically…

This series of six papers concerning the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES) starts with Teaching Behaviors, Academic Learning Time and Student Achievement: An Overview of Phase III-B of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study by the project director, Charles Fisher. As an introduction, it describes a model of classroom instruction based on…

This paper focuses on the content and evaluation of an orientation program for new foreign teaching assistants in an American college or university. The objective of the program is to familiarize the foreign teaching assistant with the sociocultural and academic differences in the university system that may cause a communication breakdown within…

AS A POLITICAL LEADER AND AS A COMMUNICATOR OF POLITICAL IDEAS TO STUDENTS, THE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER IS INVESTIGATED IN FOUR SITUATIONS--(1) REACTING TO JOB AND ENVIRONMENT, (2) PARTICIPATING IN AN INTEREST GROUP, (3) EXPRESSING POLITICAL VALUES IN CLASS, AND (4) REACTING TO COMMUNITY SANCTIONS. THE STUDY IS BASED UPON INTERVIEWS WITH 803 OREGON…

TO EXAMINE THE ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF TEACHERS AS SOCIAL PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE SCHOOL AND IN THE COMMUNITY, QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY DATA WERE ANALYZED FROM A 62 PERCENT RESPONSE OF TEACHERS (508 OF 816 TOTAL) AND A 93 PERCENT RESPONSE OF NONTEACHERS (81 OF 87 TOTAL) IN THREE WESTERN OREGON COMMUNITIES. AS VIEWED BY TEACHERS, NORMATIVE EXPECTATIONS…

This study arose out of a concern of the Nedlands College staff about the lack of written objectives on the aims of the teacher education program. A survey was conducted among members of the staff addressing their expectations with regard to students. The final objective of the survey was to define good teaching and the aims and objectives of a…

Many secondary teachers perceive a wide range of studennt ability levels within a class as a constraint on effective teaching and classroom management. This study was conducted to determine which levels of teaching effectiveness, which learning environments, and which classroom management problems were associated with very heterogeneous classes,…

This journal of educational research contains five papers written by a group of international authors. The first is a study of change in professional attitudes of student teachers that investigated the nature and extent of the change in their professional attitudes, and compared sex differences. The second paper is a technical examination of the…

Elementary teachers' responses to vignettes depicting twelve types of student problem behavior (instructional concerns: failure syndrome, perfectionist, underachiever, and low achiever; aggression problems: hostile aggressive, passive aggressive, and defiant; activity issues: short attention span, hyperactive, and immature; and peer relation…

In the spring of 1979 an experimental study was conducted to evaluate the possible effects of Reflective Teaching (RT) on preservice teachers at the Ohio State University. Reflective Teaching is a new instructional alternative for teacher education featuring peer teaching and evaluation. The hypothesis being tested stated that, as a result of…