Effective needs assessment is not an end in itself but a continuing means of meeting the needs of students and teachers. It is an integral part of other activities such as planning, operating, and evaluating school programs and teacher center activities. The key to comprehensive needs assessment is the support and cooperation of the teachers,…

Five institutions of higher education having federally-funded teacher centers are examined in this monograph. Observation visits were made to the centers, and personnel from the teacher center, the university, and the public schools were interviewed. The study sought information on the use of the university's resources, interaction among…

The progress of the Staff Development for School Improvement (SDSI) program, developed by Eastern Michigan University, is reviewed and evaluated in this monograph. The primary emphasis of SDSI is to improve the quality of schooling through shared decision making at the school building level. Ownership of the change process by those participating…

Criteria suggesting standards and characteristics for inservice education programs are described. In an introductory table, the purposes of inservice education are illustrated. They include advanced degrees, school improvement, professional advancement, retraining for new assignments, and personal professional development. The process, setting,…

Five factors are to be considered in redesigning teacher education programs: (1) the school's conception of its role and the teacher's role; (2) the college of education faculty's conceptions of the school's role and the teacher's role and the mesh of these with the school's conception; (3) the proper function of guidance, placement, and…