Examines development and implementation of Britain's National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) initiative, particularly the needs-assessment process, from an assessment center manager's perspective. Despite the pace, changing context, and inadequate resources, this initiative has ensured that principals will have more systematic…

The Torrance (California) Unified School District is proving that learning flourishes when the community collaborates to create a conflict-resolution program. This article profiles North High School's efforts to develop and select peer mediators, integrate conflict-resolution principles into the curriculum, address roots of conflict in the…

Describes the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) advisory committees in terms of research, public, college and university, and special libraries. All four of the type-of-library advisory groups work to shape OCLC policies and programs, according to the particular needs of each group. OCLC's financial and programmatic success depends upon…

Introduces other articles in this issue devoted to distributed learning at metropolitan universities. Discusses issues that institutions should address if considering distributed learning: institutional goals and strategic plans, faculty development needs and capabilities, student support services, technical and personnel infrastructure, policies,…

Asserting that providing infrastructure to support online classes is analogous to building a new physical campus adjacent to the pre-existing one, describes the support requirements of online faculty, information technology networks, students, and administrators. Says that if these infrastructure considerations are not addressed near the beginning…

Describes how institutions in Britain are working together to create a national e-University, a government-sponsored effort to bring together an assortment of distance-learning programs and courses to be sold to students all over the world. However, some officials are skeptical of its need or its prospects for success. (EV)

Describes the Mental Health Consultation Team at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center nursing home. The team is an interdisciplinary group of mental health professionals and primary care providers. Cooperation among these professionals has decreased the demands for formal psychiatry and psychology consultations while increasing mental…

Since 1988, the Jose Valdes Summer Math Institutes have helped some 4,800 (mostly minority) students get a running start on their high school careers. The program consists of four main elements: intensive math instruction for students, training for teachers, parent education, and a student support program. (MLH)

Evolution of an Australian program to provide professional development for university faculty involved in graduate student supervision is described. The externally-funded program began with an action research project to study the collaborative relationship between supervisors and students. When a group process was found impractical, individual…

Investigates ways communities can assess their needs and plan ways to use telecommunications technologies to address those needs. Experiences from four urban communities are examined, as are barriers to access and issues regarding telephone service access. (GR)

Develops a rationale for using performance assessments. Describes a number of performance assessment techniques and provides examples from a career development program. Provides suggestions to counselors, teachers, and administrators who want to use performance assessments to improve teaching and learning in career development programs. (SR)

Describes a 10-week drama production project to create a scripted piece that suits adolescent actors. Notes that there is a scarcity of suitable scripts for middle school performers. Details the process used in the hope that others who face similar frustrations may learn from and adapt it for use in their own educational environments. (SC)

Describes the development of a Web Certification Program at the University of Virginia. This program offers certificates at three levels: Web Basics, Web Designer, and Web Master. The paper focuses on: determination of criteria for awarding certificates; program status; program evaluation and program effectiveness; and future plans for the Web…

Examines the integration of information technology (IT) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, presenting the rationale for this move, characteristics of IT integration, and program development issues for making IT application a critical component of contemporary teacher education. The paper presents a framework for program development and…

Describes how a team of urban middle school educators developed a dual-language program to address the needs of their low-income, predominantly Puerto Rican students. Demonstrates how the structural, sociolinguistic, and ideological context influenced the way that this bilingual program functioned on the local level, challenging the dichotomous…