Abstract: Within our schools today, teachers work in a culture of fear of reprisal; a discourse that is enforced by a perpetual pedagogy of surveillance. Examples of surveillance include standardized testing results, superiors, other teachers as well as a masochistic form of  self-surveillance, a form of control where the individual monitors their own behaviors to insure compliance with the very same power that oppresses them.  Through a personal narrative about a kindergarten teacher’s graduate thesis, a discussion about how teachers, although afforded legal protections, rarely speak out.  As an explanation as to why teachers are silenced, elitism, hegemonic and post-structural theories are used to illuminate how a culture of fear of reprisal is permitted to operate within a larger discourse of power. As a source of agency, micropolitical strategies for resistance are offered based on Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s concepts of deterritorialization and lines of flight.

Abstract: The present study sought to determine the impact of interactive cases on achievement and motivation compared to a traditional classroom learning experience. Eighty three students in a required course (i.e., educational psychology) volunteered to participate. Participants in the experimental group were asked to view two interactive cases. Participants were evaluated on their level of motivation / participation, and achievement.  Participants also completed some open-ended questions to qualitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the interactive technology. ANOVA revealed significant differences between the experimental and control groups on motivation and all aspects of achievement. Both the quantitative and qualitative data supported the position that students benefited academically and motivationally from their experience with the interactive classroom management case studies.

Abstract: This study investigated the recruitment trends and practices of teachers and administrators in 67 Georgia school districts. A researcher-designed instrument was used to solicit the needed research data. Findings indicated that it was more difficult to recruit teachers than administrators. Common practices employed by school districts in recruiting teachers and administrators were also identified. Most of the school districts agreed that the best strategy for recruiting teachers and administrators was to grow your own.

Georgia’s Non-Teaching Educator Workforce: A Profile of Administrative and Student Services Personnel in Georgia’s Public School System

Abstract: In the current study, we direct attention to the often neglected composition of and trends among the non-teaching educator workforce in Georgia’s public school system. The non-teaching educator workforce includes administrative and student services personnel. These groups of educators help set the stage on which teachers and students perform. Usually teachers and students alone are the focus of school reform efforts. We argue that the nature, number and roles played by administrative and student services personnel may either facilitate or frustrate the teaching-learning process and, thus, deserves attention. Data were obtained on the non-teaching certified educators in Georgia’s public school system from FY97 through FY02. The demographic profile, growth trends, rates of attrition, and mobility patterns of these educators were presented. The findings suggest the need to (1) diversify some personnel groups and (2) investigate the cause of high turnover rates among others in order to better support and serve teachers and students, respectively.

Monologues, Dialogues, and Interactive Conversations: Exploring an On-line Discourse Community for Educators

Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the on-line discourse accompanying a year-long professional development experience.    Participants in this study were 19 graduate students, 5 teacher-leaders, and 1 university faculty member involved in a Reading Institute taught at an urban university in the Southeast.  Primary data sources for the study consisted of over 1300 bulletin board postings from the beginning of a summer term through the end of the following spring.  Secondary data sources were chat-room transcripts, course materials, informal interviews with the participants, and e-mail correspondence.  Data were analyzed using a constant-comparative method. The findings indicate that students involved in an on-line course develop diverse ways of using the distance learning technology to communicate with others. Instructors and/or teacher leaders played an important role in modeling and scaffolding online dialogue in order to move communication from single postings, or monologues, to multi-person interactions.  In a supportive learning environment, students can use an on-line community to further their understanding of assignments, seek out information, and provide support for one another.

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