ML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> disputed (see "Equal Resources, Equal Outcomes?" - item six below), teaching quality is often seen as "the single most influential determinant, outside of home and family circumstances, of student academic success.... regardless of socioeconomic factors, students who have the most effective teachers make the greatest educational progress."... "The goal of implementing standards-based education places great demands on teachers, who already are struggling to cope with a growing and increasingly diverse population of students, an estimated one-third of whom enter school ill-prepared for learning." (Education Commission of the States, item five)

Professional development for K-12 teachers is therefore an essential element of quality education. This issue area also covers questions of recruitment and retention; licensure, certification, and tenure; and compensation, quality and evaluation. In addition, guidance and counselling personnel, postsecondary faculty, and those who provide leadership are included.

Related Issues:

This topic is related to many others in the Master Plan; the links below lead to pages on this site that give more information in selected areas.

If your organization has material that would be useful for the online dialogue but is not included in the preceding list, please e-mail a URL to <camp-info@network-democracy.org>.