A newsletter addresses the issues school administrators should consider in planning and implementing the use of microcomputers in their schools. Described are ways in which microcomputers will change management, the variety of ways computers can be used in educational administration, classroom activities using computer-based instruction, criteria…

An examination of literature in the field of staff development reveals five models of inservice for principals. The traditional model involves enrolling in courses at colleges and universities. Institutes are short-term specific learning experiences. Competency-based training identifies knowledge and skills needed and focuses on influencing…

Some schools struggle to implement comprehensive school reform, whereas others succeed. The difference usually is that the successful schools use a combination of effective change strategies. This issue lists six strategies for change that can nearly guarantee success: (1) developing an atmosphere and context conducive to change; (2) developing…

To overcome teacher isolation and help make teaching a more attractive profession, educators might consider a peer support system based on the Stanford Collegial Evaluation Program. This paper describes the program's background, functioning, barriers to successful implementation, and how to neutralize them. The Stanford program uses a peer…

Research findings, supported by other research projects, identify the elements relevant to school improvement as school focus, school autonomy, and staff development. A chart based on three recent major literature reviews provides a comprehensive listing of supportable assertions regarding unusually effective institutions. (MLF)

The two articles in this bulletin concern an experiment in progress to determine if training teachers in a structured program for mathematics instruction results in higher student achievement and if the effects of the program on teachers and students would be enhanced if the building principal participates in and supports the inservice process. In…

The importance of school organization and its impact on teachers' commitment to staff development has been highlighted in recent research. In schools that are favorably disposed toward staff development, the norms of "collegiality" and "experimentation" prevail. Staff practices fundamental to the creation and maintenance of the…

Six articles analyze 1989 data from the Computers in Education Study of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), a cross-national elementary and secondary education assessment. A seventh paper describes the rationale and procedures for construction of tests used in the study's second stage in 1992. (SLD)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) teacher behavior patterns during episodes of reading instruction in grades 4, 5, and 6; (2) the influence of teachers' conceptual frameworks of reading on…

Interviews with 12 principals of K-12 schools in rural Saskatchewan examined practices enacted in 1992-93 to lessen the effects of the farm economic crisis on students. A seven-section literature review describes the financial, personal, family, and community components of the farm crisis in Canada and the United States and provides an overview of…

The CAG "Communicator" focuses on serving gifted students in California. This document consists of the four issues of "Communicator" issued during 1998. Featured articles include: (1) "Underachievement for Some--Dropping Out with Dignity for Others" (Sally Reis); (2) "When Gifted High School Students Fail"…