Additional career paths are an element of improvement on the traditional career ladder concept in education. A culture of growth offers teachers opportunities that can greatly expand their careers while substantially enhancing student learning. The career paths summarised in this article, describe some additional opportunities for education…

Field experiences, also referred to as practicums or clinical experiences, are part of every accredited teacher preparation program. These pre-student teaching experiences place future teachers in a preK-12 classroom where they have the opportunity not just to observe, but also to learn about teaching by interacting with teachers and students. The…

Learners who have struggled along the way can provide many lessons for everyone and for schools that are supposed to help all students learn. Based on interviews with hundreds of "great learners," the author identifies seven characteristics that describe what sets great learners apart from other learners. These are: (1) Great learners see learning…

This article originated from a single question: do the restrictions that various accrediting agencies place on teacher educators limit, or entirely eliminate, academic freedom? Considering that question makes it apparent the problem is much broader than academic freedom. The issue has two foci: personal identity and the impact of market…

Mentoring is often considered a gift of time and resources that a mentor gives to a mentee. However, research suggests that mentoring has benefits specifically for the mentor. This study analyzes written reflections of twenty-five mentors who took part in a National Science Foundation-funded program that encouraged middle-school girls to engage in…

The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has measured various types of high school graduation, completion, and dropout rates for decades. In 2006, NCES was directed by senior managers in the Education Department to reduce use of its standard graduation and completion rate measures and instead promote the…

This article describes an action-research project in which the author sought to enact her philosophy of democratic education. A brief discussion of this philosophy along with its pitfalls and promises is followed by details of the author's attempt to co-construct a graduate education course with her students. The article concludes with reflections…

Increasingly, educational reform is linked to the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs). Definitions of PLCs vary, but generally the concept refers to a group of educators who "continuously seek and share learning, and act on their learning" (Hord 1997, 6). Stoll and her colleagues, concluding their review of the current state of…

Interest in improving the quality of professional development in this age of educational reform has intensified as a growing body of research suggests that teaching practices matter in terms of student achievement. Some have argued for embedding professional development in the context of teachers' work in order to transform both teaching practices…