Customer service is a core component of user experience and an important element in making patrons feel welcomed and valued within our libraries. At the University of Maryland Libraries, we took on the challenging task of creating a customer service training curriculum for all staff working at public service points and offering a digital badge for…

Surveyed 142 student affairs professionals to examine their perceptions of staff development needs. Results suggested little perceived need for staff development. Greatest relative needs were for improvement in milieu management, consultation, and instruction. Items related to positive personal and working relationships were concerns with regard…

Changes in enrollment patterns and new demands on higher education suggest the need for greater institutional accountability for defining the needs and providing the processes through which individual faculty initiatives and those of basic academic units can have some play. (JD)

Describes a multi-method approach for assessing worker training needs in child welfare services. The approach is illustrated by describing research findings from a study of training needs of public child welfare personnel in Alaska and Oregon. (Author/BB)

Describes a study conducted at an annual staff development conference to determine the needs of professional staff developers in British higher education. An overview of the research strategy, which was based on an action research model, is provided; the ranking of needs areas is discussed; and needs statements with justifications are appended.…

Provides an overview of current staff development practices and procedures in Kenya and suggests that teachers and head teachers need staff development opportunities to grow professionally, although current inservice training programs in Kenya are skewed to meet the needs of only a few teachers. Discusses the role of the head teacher in…

In using teacher self-assessment to identify staff development needs, supervisory staff must be aware of: (1) types of information that can be collected through the self-assessment process; (2) possible techniques for collecting each type of information; and (3) procedures for using self-assessment information to identify priority staff…

A staff development program for classified support personnel at an institution whose small size cannot justify a large program is described. Needs assessment, program implementation, and lessons learned from the experience are outlined, and special problems and tensions in small-college staff programs are noted. (MSE)

Discusses professional growth contracting as a means of encouraging staff to define their own professional development needs. Describes how professional growth contracting is being used by the student affairs staff at a Maine university. (Author)

College and university faculty are taking a new look at their role in in-service teacher education and staff development. Several considerations regarding perceptions and activities in this area are discussed. (JMF)

Surveyed directors of student life at 87 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania to determine alcohol abuse programs offered, training needs, attitudes toward programs, and kinds of programs desired. Sixty-four percent of schools reported having alcohol abuse programs, 79 percent wanted additional training, and 71 percent reported an abuse…

Purpose: Considerable research has been conducted into the outcomes of vocational lifelong learning (VLL) funding in terms of courses offered and their effectiveness, but much less into the work, professional development needs and careers of staff organising and delivering VLL programmes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the career…

A needs assessment conducted with 469 first-year teachers in Virginia in 1984-85 sought to determine the teachers' needs in terms of their competencies and what sort of learning experiences would be most helpful to them. Respondents indicated needs in a wide range of competency areas, with classroom management evoking the greatest concern.…

This practicum assisted staff in (1) identifying and prioritizing problems and needs in the areas of communication and decision-making; (2) determining objectives relevant to these needs; and (3) developing a plan of action for attaining top priority objectives. After an orientation meeting, each staff member was interviewed in private and asked…

Grants received by 32 programs for training personnel and conducting research in visual impairments from federal, state, and other sources were surveyed. Resulting recommendations address training grants, the 75 percent rule, and research funding. Issues considered include personnel needs, discrepancies in Department of Education annual counts of…