High-stakes testing is one of the most controversial issues in American education. Advocates contend that these tests encourage students to work harder, provide teachers with a stronger understanding of students' strengths and weaknesses, and allow educators to target failing schools for extra help. Critics claim that they narrow and distort the…

Given its success as a high achieving, award-winning magnet school for academically oriented students in grades 9-12, Columbus Alternative High School has more than successfully fulfilled its ambitious mission in the 30 years since it was named. According to the school's mission statement, Columbus Alternative aims "to create a truly…

Teachers receive direction from national commissions, researchers, staff developers, state education personnel, superintendents, parents, private pressure groups, the courts, commercial vendors, federal regulators, and politicians. This direction overload depletes energy, blurs individuality, and erodes confidence, causing many educators to either…

Many urban schools struggle to retain their best teachers because of challenging work environments, poor salaries, and ineffective school leadership. The additional requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation for teachers to be highly qualified and the increased academic requirements of raising students to a proficient level in reading…

The study was undertaken with the objective of assessing groups influence on management style as related to University governance with University of Agriculture, Makurdi as a case study from academic staff perspective. The management style of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi between the period September 3, 1996 to…

This paper is the result of an explorative study, based on the in-depth meta-analysis of a corpus of contemporary pieces of research in which there was found clear references to veteran theatre teachers talking about their work. Following that, extracts from interviews of experienced theatre teachers were analyzed. The major aim of this study is…

Not long ago, public education in Ontario, Canada, was in deep trouble. Student achievement was stagnating, labor disruptions were rampant, and public satisfaction with the schools was low. In 2003, a new provincial government initiated a series of reforms that embodied a positive, outcome-focused agenda for public education. Today, student…

California's students, particularly its poorest students, need great teachers. Unfortunately, California's seniority-based teacher layoff system puts adult privileges over student needs. Newer teachers are laid off first, regardless of how well they do their jobs. This system is especially damaging to schools serving the highest numbers of…

The purpose of this mixed method, survey-based inquiry was to determine how Georgia public high school faculty members perceive various pressures and experiences associated with a career in education. These perceptions were then analyzed as possible indicators of teacher attrition in order to improve retention rates. The independent demographic…

Recent data on teacher attrition indicate that approximately 15 percent of teachers either leave the profession or move from one school to another each year. The attrition rate is highest for teachers new to the profession with 30-50 percent leaving within five years. High rates of attrition are a contributing cause of various educational problems…

This article considers how the private finance initiative, a contract for infrastructure, affected teachers' perceptions of efficacy, job satisfaction, and morale at an urban secondary school in the United Kingdom. Qualitative data collection techniques, including unstructured observation and semistructured personal interviews, were utilized to…

There is widespread interest in the impact of unauthorised absence on pupil attainment, links with disaffection, exclusion from school and criminality. However, little is heard about what those who take unauthorised absence from school think that the effect has been on them; nor do we hear the voices of other pupils and their teachers. This…

Teacher leaders do not fulfill their potential without the right kinds of support. Using the stories of two teacher leaders, Lattimer describes how school and district administrators succeed and fail at encouraging teachers to take on or withdraw from leadership roles. The two teachers profiled were more likely to assume leadership roles when…

Burnout and decreased levels of self-efficacy are contributors to the high attrition rate and increasing demand for highly-qualified special educators nationwide. This has led to a national shortage of special educators, which is a critical reason why current special educators are encountering high stress levels, dissatisfaction, and overall…

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether Exemplary, Recognized and Acceptable schools differ in their school climates, as measured by the 10 dimensions of the Organizational Health Inventory. Significant differences were found on all 10 dimensions of the Organizational Health Inventory, with Exemplary schools out-performing Acceptable…