This study examines six teachers' responses inside and outside of their classrooms to increasingly mixed messages about how they should develop the literacy of California's youngest and most at-risk students. While they must develop highly developed knowledge and skills to teach literacy in linguistically diverse classrooms, they must also adhere…

The issue of physical punishment is a particularly controversial one at the moment as child advocates are engaged in a struggle to persuade the New Zealand government to repeal a defence in law (section 59 of the 1961 "Crimes Act") which justifies parents hitting their children provided the force used is "reasonable in the…

In an extensive review of research on teacher preparation, Wilson, Floden, and Ferrini-Mundy (2001) pointed out that "study after study show that experienced and newly certified teachers alike see clinical experiences (including student teaching) as a powerful--sometimes the single most powerful--component of teacher preparation". They go on to…

This study examined the relationship between creative teaching and elementary students' achievement gains. Forty-eight upper elementary school teachers' classroom instruction was observed and evaluated over the course of 8 different lessons throughout the year. For each teacher, during each lesson, both a creative teaching frequency score and a…

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a term that encompasses the various neurodevelopmental disorders experienced by individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure. FASD incorporates the terms Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), and Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND). Early studies showed that students with…

In Sweden, governmental decision-making is based on a social-democratic ideology and a system of representative democracy. In citizens' meetings, the democratic values and norms, that are both a requirement and goal, at are formed. This concept of democracy, and the value system behind it, permeates Swedish culture, and its institutions and…

A major barrier in the provision of special education services to migrant students is the lack of trained personnel who understand the unique strengths and challenges of migrant students. Using the experiences of the Migrant Special Education Training Program, this article presents a teacher education curriculum and pedagogical model for preparing…

Despite its primary function in the delivery of undergraduate and post-graduate programs, together with its role in generating new knowledge through research, the university is also a workplace for the academic staff and others who function within it. Historically, universities, in their role as employer, have a poor record in providing…

The difficulty of determining if a student's learning difficulties are the results of learning disabilities or issues related to cultural and linguistic diversity (CLD), often causes problems when individuals are referred for a learning disability assessment. This article discusses the many issues related to assessment of adults in community…

Recent economic events and constantly-shifting priorities continue to challenge the traditional hallmarks of community colleges: responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility. Institutional leaders are increasingly questioning whether the comprehensive community college model and, more importantly, open access, are still sustainable in today's…

The study reported here is intended to address both the concerns regarding the lack of successful administrator preparation programs and the need for additional research which can be used to evaluate administrator preparation programs. This study used student-created exit portfolios as the database for a qualitative document analysis of two forms…

Over the past few years, asynchronous web-based technologies have been examined for their usefulness in promoting collaborative learning among university students. Variations in implementation of this technology will determine to what extent students' learning is actually collaborative. This article discusses curricular adaptations made in the…

The discourse on teacher quality has centered on issues of teacher knowledge and teacher skill, yet a third element that is central to all professional standards is teacher dispositions. Although there is no consensus about a definition of teacher dispositions, there are several models in use regarding how dispositions are being addressed. Most…

Professional Development Schools (PDS) have become a widely used vehicle for the educational and professional development of both preservice and in-service teachers. Three key stakeholders are generally identified in the research about PDS--preservice teachers, experienced teachers, and K-12 students. The purpose of this research was to examine…

The divergence between a predominately White teacher education population and a diverse public school system poses this question: how do universities best prepare teacher candidates to teach children of racially and linguistically different backgrounds than their own? Teacher education programs have addressed this issue in a variety of ways, such…