If the teaching profession is to attract the most promising teacher candidates and retain those who are exemplary in practice, it is imperative that teachers' personal needs be attended to throughout their professional careers. In order to adequately address these needs, those designing preservice and inservice professional development must…

The role of staff development in establishing charactertistics of an effective school was examined in order to illuminate associations. A framework was used to categorize these characteristics into three critical dimensions. Two consistent patterns emerged that are described and used to present broad guidelines for the conduct of staff…

The paper asserts that in a globalized world in which more and more students change countries for their education, either virtually or in reality, and in which curriculum materials cross national borders and are incorporated into local courses, faculty development becomes increasingly important. To address the issue of improving faculty…

Defends the claims made in an earlier publication by the authors that inservice programs should be more experiential because the cognitive development of adults is less uniformly advanced than previously supposed and because experiential learning is more effective. Cites additional supportive research. (PGD)

Reviews research on staff development for second-language teachers--internships, peer coaching, peer observation/feedback, team coaching, and student-based development. Describes practice implications for three approaches: transitional bilingual, sheltered English, and peer collaborative. (SK)

A literature review examined the effectiveness of electronic learning in business and academic settings, finding positive anecdotal reports about trainee reactions, learning outcomes, and organizational results, but limited empirical evidence. More research on distance learning's effect on job and career development is needed. (Contains 47…

Review of the current state of human-resource-development literature includes definitions, models, and dominant biases. The review concludes that the literature is fragmented and reflects a diverse range of issues and opinions. (73 references) (SK)

A research review identified findings about the financial analysis method, forecasting of the financial benefits of human resource development (HRD), and recent financial analysis research: (1) HRD embedded in a performance improvement framework yielded high return on investment; and (2) HRD interventions focused on performance variables forecast…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review social identity theory and its implications for learning in organizations. Design/methodology/approach: This article is a conceptual paper based on a multidisciplinary review of the literature on social identity theory. This article explains the theoretical concepts, constructs, and findings of an…

A conference on academic library services to disabled students is summarized. Presentations which focused on the global context of library services and the information role of library personnel, the need to develop qualitative and quantitative standards dealing with technical as well as service aspects, the growing body of information resources on…

A report is given of a major study on effective staff development and its role in school improvement efforts. A review of research literature identified key process variables that foster effective staff development activities within successful school or district change efforts. Questions guiding the review of research included: (1) What processes…

The author discusses improvement in quality of special education through the use of the individualized education program (IEP) as a placement, instructional, and planning tool. Conditions necessary for using the IEP effectively are listed. Implementation of the IEP as placement, instructional, and planning tools is noted to depend on four…

Counseling services of many adult education programs are inadequate due to several factors: (1) incomplete state of development of adult career development and transition theory; (2) lack of preparation in the existing theory by adult career counselors; and (3) limitations placed on adult career counselors because of the institutions in which they…

The author elaborates on informal learning in discussing staff development for volunteers. He suggests that ways be found to integrate classroom and on-the-job learning; that staff developers help people learn more effectively; and that learning be supported through job selection, organizational support, and a system of learning relationships and…

The president of the National Education Association discusses the danger of rushing into career ladders as a panacea for educational reform, stressing the need for collaboration rather than competition among educators. (Author/CB)