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Recent state and federal policies generally focus on the individual teacher rather than the school organization. These reforms seem to assume that a teacher can do it all, that an individual who succeeds in one school can succeed in any school and, conversely, that a teacher who fails in one classroom will fail in all others. However, there is no evidence that changing the people who work in a school without changing the context in which they work will be effective. But reformers need not decide between the two approaches in a forced either-or choice. A more balanced strategy for improving the quality of teachers and teaching would invest in individual teachers and assess their effectiveness while also improving the schools where they work.

Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) is a local labor-management initiative designed to improve teacher quality. In PAR, expert "consulting teachers" mentor, support, and evaluate novice and underperforming veteran teachers. Evaluations under PAR can lead to dismissals. The authors examine the costs and benefits of PAR, both financial and organizational. Although PAR is an expensive reform, costing US$3,000 to US$10,000 per teacher served, it affords the district a range of financial savings and organizational benefits that offset program costs. The authors argue that limiting the scope of an educational cost-benefit study to only quantifiable elements artificially constrains understanding what a reform actually requires and offers. (Contains 4 tables and 10 notes.)

Using a sample of 374 randomly selected first- and second-year teachers in three states, this study examines new teachers' experiences of official mentoring during their first year. Descriptive analyses reveal that experienced mentors are generally present in the work lives of new teachers. However, new teachers often have inappropriate mentor-matches, and low percentages of new teachers are observed by or have conversations with their mentor about the core activities of teaching. Low proportions of new teachers in low-income schools and those in math, science, and technology have ideal matches and supports. The findings have implications for policymakers who look to mentoring as a strategy to improve public schools and retain new teachers.

Background/Context: Increasingly, instructional reforms in US schools place teachers in differentiated roles, such as literacy coach or data analyst. Not only do these roles hold promise for reforming instruction, but they also may make the teaching career more rewarding by offering teachers new challenges over time. In the past, teachers who held roles that distinguished them encountered resistance from colleagues who questioned their distinction and rebuffed their instructional advice (Lortie, 1975; Little, 1988). In doing so, colleagues defended their classroom autonomy and appealed to teaching's traditional egalitarian culture (Little, 1988; Johnson, 1990; Mangin, 2005). As veteran teachers retire, the teachers that take differentiated roles today may be relatively inexperienced and young. Thus, these teachers may violate teaching's allocation of privileges based on seniority (Lortie, 1975) in addition to autonomy and egalitarianism. Purpose: In this study, we set out to understand how second-stage (third-tenth year) teachers experienced differentiated roles in the current context of accountability, where instructional change is the order of the day. Participants: We selected 20 second-stage teachers who held differentiated roles that were formal, compensated by time or money, and promised to be ongoing rather than temporary. Our sample included teachers working in several metropolitan areas and in a range of school settings. Research Design: This is an interview-based, qualitative study. Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected through hour-long, semi-structured interviews. Constructing matrices and writing analytic memos, we conducted cross-case analysis. Findings: Among the second-stage teachers we interviewed, only those whose roles sought to change colleagues' practice provoked resistance from their colleagues. Teachers who held these roles, which we designated "reform roles," reported that colleagues resisted their efforts to provide feedback and resented their special recognition, especially given their inexperience. Moreover, teachers in reform roles performed these roles strategically, in order to reduce colleagues' opposition. In some cases, the teachers in our sample reduced the scope of their role in an effort to avoid provoking their colleagues. We concluded that the norms of autonomy, egalitarianism, and seniority continue to exert great influence among teachers, whether veteran or second-stage. Conclusions/Recommendations: These findings suggest that instructional reform built on such roles should be designed and implemented with more consideration of the power and persistence of teaching's traditional norms. In this way, these roles might better promote whole-school instructional change and provide appealing career opportunities that retain teachers.

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 schools. In-district charters best combined features that provided school autonomy while meeting teachers' basic concerns. (SM)

Many of the educational reforms being implemented become union issues when they reach the local school district levels. Presents a study of four school districts with such reforms under negotiation. Although administrators proposed the changes, the teachers and their local unions often proved to be constructive participants in those changes. Includes references. (MD)

Although it is encouraging that teachers are now seen as proper change agents in rebuilding public education, there are difficulties in legislating new roles and new norms for teachers. Organized teachers have long pursued change through collective bargaining, but this method has limitations. New forums for teachers are needed. (MT)

Background/Context: Many strategies to improve failing urban schools rest on efforts to improve leadership within the school. Effective school-based leadership depends not only on the activities of the principal, but also on teachers' efforts to address school-wide challenges. Research has shown that the principal is pivotal in such ventures, but we know little about how teachers conceive of their role in leadership, how they respond to opportunities provided or denied by their principal, or how they initiate leadership on their own. Purpose: We studied how teachers in six high-poverty urban schools participate in leadership beyond their classroom. We asked: What role do teachers in high-poverty urban schools play in their school's improvement? How do principals conceive of teachers' potential for leadership and how do they act on it ? How do teachers respond to the opportunities and constrains they encounter as they seek to exercise leadership in their schools'? Research Design: We interviewed 95 teachers and administrators in six high-poverty schools of one large urban district (two elementary schools, one K -8 school, one middle school, and two high schools). The schools, which served large proportions of low-income and minority students, had varying records of student performance. Data Collection and Analysis: In each school, we interviewed the principal, other administrators, and a broad sample of teachers. We reviewed documents and observed day-to-day practices. After uniting a structured, thematic summary for each respondent and school, we coded all transcripts and analyzed themes and practices within and across schools. Findings: Teachers were willing and ready to address their school's challenges. They conditionally granted their principal discretion in setting the agenda, based on the perceived authority and expertise of the principal and teachers' opportunities for engagement as partners. When the principal took an instrumental approach to their contributions, teachers resented it, withdrew to their classrooms, and considered leaving the school. When the principal took an inclusive approach, demonstrating genuine interest in their views and contributions, teachers invested in school-wide reforms. Conclusions/Recommendation: Although a principal may develop a strategic plan for improvement, that plan cannot simply be "rolled out. ''Doing so without teachers' contributions and endorsement likely means that the plan is incomplete and will be rejected outright or adopted perfunctorily. District administrators should select and develop principals who take an inclusive approach to teacher leadership. Policy makers and researchers should go beyond assessing the success of specific reforms and study the process of change within schools as reforms are developed and implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]