Examined the dynamics of organizational change in higher education institutions and whether chartering a higher education organization would lead to increased faculty responsiveness and involvement in reform efforts. Data from interviews with school faculty, administrators, and other involved parties indicated that faculty work changed, work…

Examined the responses to charter school competition of four small Arizona school districts. Overall, districts lost students to charter schools because they did not satisfy significant constituencies. Their responses depended on overall enrollment trends, quality of charter competition, quality of district leadership, and district size. Responses…

Used data from a panel of Baltimore students to describe the long-term process of disengagement from school that leads to high school dropout. Nearly half of the study group left school without a degree. There were significant differences across sociodemographic lines involving academic, parental, and personal resources. These resources also added…

Using professional self-regulation in medicine as a model, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future has proposed sweeping changes in how teachers are trained and licensed, claiming that the reforms are well-grounded in research. This paper challenges the Commission's conclusions and argues that the research literature offers far…

Responds to an article that claims the National Commission on Teaching and America's future has misinterpreted research data and findings regarding reform of teacher preparation and licensing. The article responds to each charge, examines how the critique misinterprets research findings, and argues for professional teaching standards as a key…

Reviews current governance problems in education and details the range of possible governance models for post-industrial schooling. After describing problems that governance must address, the paper describes various possibilities for school governance in the future. Five types of control processes are considered. Ideological foundations of an…

Examined teachers' experiences in charter and public schools to investigate how deregulation policies affected teaching conditions. Results indicated that the most autonomous schools (charter schools) were not necessarily favored by teachers. Greater autonomy for teachers was accomplished by expanded roles and responsibilities in deregulated…

Examined the individual characteristics and high school departments of mathematics and English teachers who did or did not adapt instruction for diverse students. Data from case studies and surveys revealed different patterns of goals, beliefs, and conceptions of subject matter and students characteristic of teachers who did and did not adapt.…

Examined Asian Americans' resistance to becoming teachers. Interviews with Asian American student teachers, and interviews by those students with Asian American citizens, highlighted: intense pressure from parents to strive for certain positions; sense of personal inadequacy related to Chinese cultural standards about teaching; fear of working…

Describes the now widespread community college involvement in contract training, explaining how this involvement arose and analyzing its impact on the community college. Information comes from national data on contract training and from case studies of the forms contract training takes in community colleges in five states servicing five very…

Reviews mentor programs involving students ranging from preschool-aged through young adults in which the mentors are sponsored by businesses, professions, and the community at large. Four case studies are examined to analyze the results they have achieved and to ascertain whether it is worthwhile to replicate such programs. (SM)

Examined the effect of pairing minority and nonminority student teachers in field-based practicums. Overall, the partnerships broke down racial barriers, tackled sensitive racial/cultural issues, promoted awareness in cross-race domains, and laid foundations for long-term social and professional relationships. Findings uncovered an institutional…

Investigated the kinds of lived experiences contributing to teachers' commitment to multicultural education and processes by which teachers became committed. Interviews and surveys involving K-12 and college teachers indicated that teachers developed commitment through various developmental life experiences. At each developmental stage, there were…

Discusses the tenets of critical pedagogy, describing research on the presence of those tenets within discourse patterns and pedagogical practices in urban, community-based classrooms. Discourses and pedagogies of three female, African American teachers are highlighted, examining how teachers challenge students to consider alternate life…

Presents one college professor's reflections on the challenges of mediating the boundaries of race, class, and professorial authority in an undergraduate multicultural education course. After discussing current debates about multicultural education, the paper examines assumptions underlying a multicultural discourse, poses questions about…