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There has been some exploration of the conceptualisation of teachers as change agents within educational change literature. While this body of work does consider how teachers understand, harness and influence the process of curriculum change, within the policy rhetoric and educational change literature there is limited reference made to how the change agent role is translated into practice. To illustrate the complex nature of the change process this paper explores the experiences of generalist primary teachers at the ‘chalk face’ as they initiate physical education curriculum change within their school contexts. This paper reports on the findings of a study investigating how five Scottish primary teachers with a postgraduate qualification in primary physical education construed and took forward curriculum change. A qualitative and interpretivist approach to the research was taken to analyse how the knowledge and skills the teachers gained from the professional development they had undertaken contributed to their agency to initiate curriculum change within their school contexts. Drawing on the work of Fullan, the concept of change agentry is used to analyse the experiences of the individual teachers as they exercised their agency to enact curriculum change. The paper concludes by reflecting on the findings of the study to suggest factors that may support and constrain teachers acting as change agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This third and final progress report traces developments in geography education in England from 2007 to 2012. I identify four recent education policy reforms introduced by the Coalition Government that impact on school and HE geography – international comparisons, core knowledge and the English baccalaureate (E-bac), teacher education and the A-level/HE interface – before focusing on each one in turn. The main themes to emerge from the analysis are: first, questions about using international comparison to inform national education policy change; and, second, the social divisiveness of increasing differentiation and selection in curriculum knowledge and subjects. The third theme is the predicted curtailment of theoretically informed, critical engagement with educational and, specifically, geographical issues by teachers following the introduction of ‘on-the-job training’. Recent education policy reform has created an ever-growing level of control and regulation over school knowledge, the geography curriculum, students and teachers which will surely impact upon university geography education in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background/Context: The lack of court-ordered support for race-based policies that maintain and create integrated schools has forced communities of color to seek other avenues to obtain equitable education, such as school choice. Individual states and the federal government, as seen in grant provisions through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, are encouraging the expansion of choice at the very time that options for increasing student diversity, particularly racial diversity, are being narrowed by the courts. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The article uses critical race theory to examine the outcomes of specific school reforms, based on market theory models of school choice, that were designed to alleviate schooling inequities in urban districts. Setting: The context of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serves as a microcosm of urban districts that have embraced school choice to create more equitable schooling options. Milwaukee, like most metropolitan areas, has a history of court-ordered desegregation that served as a temporary solution to racially segregated schools. Given the federal and district court turn from supporting race-based desegregation policies in schools, Milwaukee and other metropolitan districts are looking for new models to serve students of color in their districts and cities. Research Design: This article is a conceptual paper that incorporates data from a variety of sources to support the authors' conclusions. Data Collection and Analysis: Data for this project were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, documents from newly created small high schools, such as Web sites and curriculum designs; current newspaper articles discussing issues of small high schools; archival newspaper articles documenting the creation of the 1990 choice and charter programs; professional experiences as a member of the Bill and Melinda Gates institutional selection and small-school team support system; and an empirical study that documents teachers' attempts to provide curriculum and instruction in newly created small schools. Conclusions/Recommendations: In combination, these data sources tell the story of market theory reforms that will continue to struggle to meet reformists' goals to serve all Milwaukee populations so long as policy makers and the courts continue to deny the irrefutable power that race and class exercise in parental choice in U.S. urban schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper explores an instructive case in which two potentially opposed reform theories converge on schools, in order to understand how productively or unproductively the two theories coexist. We attempt to answer the following questions: Can these two reform theories coexist, or do they get in each other's way? In what ways, if any, do the two complement each other? Separately, or together how do they affect instructional practice and the school-level conditions that support teaching and learning? Finally, can policies and leadership, in this case reflecting two such different reform theories, provide mutually supporting conditions for teaching and learning in urban schools? Setting: The theories are analyzed as they occurred over the 1990s and into this century in three middle schools in one New York City Community School District. Research Design: The study utilized a qualitative multiple case study design. Three middle schools within one district were sampled using criteria related to student population, school structure, and configuration of resources such as time and staff Data were collected over three years during three site visits per year and included extensive interviews, observations, and analysis of pertinent documents. Conclusions/Recommendations: We argue that the reform theories primarily complemented one another in this case. In the schools, differences in steps taken by school leaders and staff to realize the first reform theory enabled schools to respond productively to, rather than resist, district initiatives based on the second theory. The sophistication of the district's vision for teaching and learning (both for students and adults), combined with a flexible approach to implementing the second reform theory, reduced the likelihood of conflicting reform messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doyle provides an overview of the research on learning to teach. He describes how theoretical characteristics of the professional curriculum often conflict with survival needs of prospective and practicing teachers. He further discusses voids in the induction and inservice research literature and notes emerging research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporating four levels of interaction characteristic of effective course design are possible in online coursework. These levels, including (a) interaction with the content, (b) interaction with the instructor, (c) interaction with classmates; and (d) interaction with self (Lynch, 2002) are critical to effective instruction and difficult to replicate in an online format. The need for students to be involved in the process of activities such as "discussing issues" may pose a significant challenge. Techniques and strategies to manage and maximize the use of synchronous chats and asynchronous discussions are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent interest in curriculum reform has focused on the major as the locus for study in depth. Few empirical studies have been done on study in depth in general, and none have been done on study in depth in sociology. In this study, I examine study in depth in sociology versus other social sciences and other majors, using schools as the unit of analysis. I found that study in depth is not very deep overall and that sociology majors experience less study in depth than do other majors. Sociology majors do, however, perceive greater intellectual connections than do other majors, and sociology majors experience greater connections with personally significant questions and more exploration of values and ethics. I explore the implications of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reform mandates are forcing education deans to confront a variety of new issues and problems. Riggs and Huffman discuss the new directions evidenced in the reform movement and describe the lack of direct involvement of teacher educators in the reform debate. The authors also investigate the perceptions of deans toward different components of proposed education reform plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is strong disagreement about where to educate the majority of children with disabilities—in special or regular education settings. Although most agree that some special-needs students require separate instruction for at least pan of the school day, Federal law requires educators to prepare these students for an eventual return to the mainstream. Our students purpose was to implement and validate a process (or readying students to transition successfully from special education resource moms to regular classrooms for math instruction, Preparation included use of curriculum-based measurement and transenvironmental programming. Forty-two students with mild disabilities were assigned to experimental and control groups. Math progress was measured by pre-versus posttreatment and ongoing curriculum-based achievement data, obtained in special and regular education settings, and by teacher reports. Findings indicated that experimental students substantially reduced time spent in special education math, whereas control students' time in special education math was unchanged. Experimental students' pre- to posttreatment achievement was greater than that of controls and was similar to the progress of lowest-achieving nondisabled students in mainstream classes. Time-series analysis revealed, however that experimental students' improved performance occurred only in special education; once in the mainstream their progress ceased. Implications for educational policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]