Disagreement exists about the role and function of middle schools. Demand for improved student achievement, greater accountability, improved test scores, and greater responsiveness to parents characterize tensions. This paper reports on the efforts of one community to examine its middle-school program and reposition it to become more effective at…

This study investigated what new Korean elementary teachers wanted to learn and what experienced teachers, regarded as potential mentors, expected to teach to beginning teachers. The study was conducted to help determine the contents of a mentoring program being developed for new elementary teachers by using needs assessment. Separate…

Surveys were returned from 40 of 235 climbing gyms nationwide in an effort to identify or verify issues concerning the design, construction, and use of artificial climbing walls. The survey was complemented by discussions with wall manufacturers, architects, engineers, climbing gym owners, wall managers and staff, competition organizers, and…

Informal mentoring has always served as a means of fostering development and growth of the younger members of our society. Mentoring programs take on many forms. Some target youth development, while others foster development within professions, such as the mentoring of new teachers. Prior research on influential factors in mentoring outcomes…

Over the period of 40 years public sentiment in this country in favor of provisions for the comfort and security of aged groups has had a steady growth. The sentiment in favor of provisions for the retirement of public-school teachers is now so general that it is often felt unnecessary to include any consideration of the social and economic…

It is critical for nurses to be aware of changing treatment strategies and new research developments in the field of diabetes. This is important so that nurses can respond to patient questions as well as, in some cases, modify their actual patient care approach. Thus, nurses are a vital target group for diabetes continuing education programs. (SSH)

A survey of personnel from eight selected agencies or groups who were or who might be responsible for providing inservice education for vocational agriculture instructors in Iowa indicated that the vocational agriculture instructors and the university research and teaching staff should be equally responsible for determining the goals and…

Recognizing that community acceptance of potential juvenile justice treatment programs often determines the success or failure of the programs, an assessment model was developed to assist in policy planning. The procedure applies the tenets and methods of subjective expectancy utility models. (Author/GK)

Results of a study of the elderly in one community show that they place a high value on self-reliance and independence. Social planners should make use of these values to motivate the elderly to become more receptive to programs designed to help them to help themselves. (CT)

Survey results indicate the preferences of recreationists for program and facilities planning. Indoor campus recreation users have strong reasons for participation, prefer to decrease programs rather than increase fees or decrease operating hours, and value the recreational facilities and the opportunities they provide. (CJ)

Although teacher training institutions have made some adjustments in their programing to include special education courses for the nonspecialist, widespread changes are not in evidence. (LH)

Reports on a study to estimate the proportion of the University of Michigan's library collection needing preservation efforts and describes the rating scale used. (FM)

Explores program content, instructional organization, and departmental needs of reading departments in community colleges in California. While differences in colleges exist, most follow certain patterns in program management and staffing procedures. The outlook indicates continued expansion as community colleges meet the needs of students entering…

Vocational educators in Swaziland identified professional competencies in focus group workshops. These competencies and additional ones identified in a literature review were refined into 11 competence areas needed by teachers of practical studies (agriculture, commercial, home economics, and technical). (SK)

Dutch human resource professionals (n=20) were interviewed about the congruence of training strategies with theory. They use a variety of strategies to organize learning at orientation, learning/optimizing, and continuation phases. Strategies appear aligned with theories of liberal, vertical, and horizontal learning. Problems included resistance…