A STUDY Ol INSERYK'E EDUCATION AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES their obser\ations with the investigator. Alter the third lesson, there was a high degree of inter-scorer reliability among the three observers, indicating that all were recording similar ratings on each element of the rubric, four more simultaneous independent observations were then conducted to ensure that reliability. The interpreters then independently conducted the balance of the observations during the follow ing month.
Limitations of the Study
This study is limited to inservice education for regular education teachers in grades one through eleven, with some attention to special education. Preservice teacher education was not within the scope of the current investigation. Nor was it the purpose of this study to investigate the general conditions of education in Azerbaijan, although references were made to the context of education as it impacted on inservice education and classroom practice. The study reflects the status of inservice education and classroom practices in Azerbaijan up to and including October 1999.
The direct examination of classroom practices was limited to observations in 199 grade oneeleven classrooms in fourteen state-funded schools in or near Baku. The consideration of classroom practices in private Turkish schools was limited to interv ievvs of school administrators and students.
