In Australia, schools are experiencing increasing cultural diversity, alongside of nationalizing assessment and curricular and professional standards. It is raising concerns regarding the pace of systemic reform and sector wide professional renewal. Culturally responsive schooling practices may be helpful at this time because it locates the…

In spite of the U.S. corporatized education "reform" movement where the curriculum has been narrowed and teachers are pressured to teach to the test, many educators enact critical pedagogical practices that seek to make school a place that is equitable, democratic, collaborative, just, and humane. Using data from an in-depth qualitative interview…

The increasing cultural, linguistic, and developmental diversity of today's classrooms demands more inclusive approaches to schooling, but classroom teachers often report feeling unprepared for inclusive education. This article reports some lessons learned from the Inclusive Practice Project, a teacher education reform project that has developed…

Teacher quality is at the center of today's ardent discussions about the educational system, with calls for the reform and critical review of teacher development programs. There is no lack of activity in response to these calls. There are thousands of teacher education, induction, and professional programs in the U.S. which offer teachers a…

The authors argue that conceptual and methodological limitations in existing research approaches severely hamper theory building and empirical exploration of teacher learning and collaboration through cyber-enabled networks. They conclude that new frameworks, tools, and techniques are needed to understand and maximize the benefits of teacher…

Preparing teachers for mainstreaming is discussed by describing the necessary changes in the regular classroom teacher role and the roles of other school staff members and by considering the issues and problems that must be resolved by teacher educators. (JD)

The central features of a school's or college's planned effort to bring about constructive change and stabilization are discussed. (JD)

A long-range staff development project for teacher educators sponsored by the Maryland State Department of Education in cooperation with five higher education institutions is described. Issues pertaining to faculty development and the nature of teacher educators are discussed. (MT)

Dean's Grant projects have indicated that faculty development and curriculum redesign are interdependent aspects of the change process. Extensive involvement of faculty members in the process of reconceptualizing and restructuring teacher education programs is important for motivating participation in professional development and curriculum…

Documented an elementary school that implemented student portfolios as port of a comprehensive school reform effort. Findings indicated that portfolios were an important mechanism through which teachers came to deeper understanding of their professional practices. Teachers began to recognize changes in classroom practice and school-wide…

This article describes a change model, which links urban public school and teacher preparation renewal, that emerged from a three-year school district-university collaboration. Topics include the professional development continuum, from early field experiences to professional educator experiences, school- and university-based clinical faculty, and…

Identifies issues that need to be addressed in developing effective teacher induction and mentor programs, including providing beginning teachers with reduced teaching loads, multiple opportunities to teach the same content, support from peers and experienced colleagues, and formative evaluation that differs from the summative evaluation of…

This article discusses benefits and preconditions associated with University of Northern Colorado's Preservice Elementary Science/Mathematics Project. With college faculty, on-campus teaching fellows (experienced elementary and middle school teachers) revise, deliver, and evaluate science and math content and pedagogy courses; model effective…

Describes a partnership among English-education faculty members and secondary English teachers, arguing that a multisite, discipline-based professional-development faculty provides an alternative for secondary-level Professional Development School principles-in-action. The paper discusses reform, departmentalization of high school and college…

The standards movement seeks to bridge the gap between universities and schools, smoothing the transition for student teachers from novice to professional. The imposition of standards and close monitoring of learning outcomes potentially violates the affective bond between student and teacher and the teacher's commitment to education. Resolving…