Interviews with 10 high school administrators who were leaders of innovation identified three new roles for principals relevant to administrator education: principal as leader of leaders, as advocate, and as catalyst for change. Administrator education programs should focus on leadership of change, continuous improvement, development of learning…

Interviews with 149 Ohio educators asked about the characteristics of successful school administrators and compared results to a similar 1987 study. Being supportive, fair, friendly, considerate, and organized appear to be timeless in importance, while being a strong disciplinarian and visible in the school may be characteristics more reflective…

A study of methods used to ensure validity and reliability in classroom assessments surveyed 625 elementary and secondary teachers in Ohio. Results indicate teachers spent little time conducting statistical analyses of their student evaluation data, and many techniques used were poor and inadequate. Additional professional development and improved…

Over time, variations in describing what constitutes good teaching have included ideal, analytic, effective, dutiful, competent, expert, reflective, satisfying, diversity-responsive, and respected. If good teaching could be observed and measured, the results would not indicate a one-size-fits-all model, but rather demonstrate that good teaching is…

Improving schooling and teacher education will be successful to the extent that educators make the public and budget-controlling authorities aware of the relationship between investment in education and productive citizenship. Until educators become more proactive and willing to serve as "American Reconstructioneers of Culture," our educational…

When teachers punish students through the use of external control, they associate themselves and learning with negative feelings and consequently alienate students from education. Teachers must apply principles of friendship to connect with students and gain entry into students'"quality worlds." (Includes an outline of basic principles of…

The Mid-Western Educational Research Association (MWERA) was founded in 1978 with the goal of disseminating theoretical and applied educational research to members from 13 midwestern states. Includes information on MWERA mission and goals; its governance, structure, and operations; and its growth and development, including annual conferences,…

Discusses why educational researchers need to rethink their roles, methods, texts, and contexts to bring about meaningful educational reform. In particular, researchers must rethink their audience and their relationships with that audience. (SLD)

Links the literatures on human abilities and expertise, suggesting that human abilities are a form of developing expertise. Discusses the role of tests in a scheme that regards abilities as developing expertise and presents a model that implies a shift toward practice grounded in the development of knowledge-based expertise in all children.…

Suggests that the educational reform movement has relied on an economic rationale and the argument that better academic achievement is linked to higher workplace productivity largely because these arguments are persuasive rather than because there is any compelling evidence on the links between educational standards and economic performance. (SLD)

Proposes the notion of "instructional congruence" as a way of making academic content accessible, meaningful, and relevant for diverse learners, including those from non-English language backgrounds. Suggests an agenda for research, practice, and policy in promoting high standards for all students across subject areas. (SLD)

Presents some evidence bearing on the issue of national standards for education. Reviews evidence from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study and the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Notes some improvements even in the absence of national standards. (SLD)

Investigated gender differences in problem-solving and computational strategies used by 44 boys and 38 girls as they progressed from grades 1 to 3. Found no gender differences in solving number fact, addition/subtraction, or nonroutine problems but strong gender differences in strategies used to solve problems. Discusses the use of invented…

Explores possible reasons for the gender differences in mathematics problem-solving strategies found in primary-grade students in the study by E. Fennema and others and considers implications of the findings for mathematics instruction. (SLD)

Suggests that the instructional methods used with the subjects in the study by E. Fennema and others may have allowed teachers' gender stereotypes to be activated more than traditional instructional methods do, resulting in differences in primary-grade students' problem-solving strategies. (SLD)