A companion report provided a summary of what was learned from surveys of principals and staff developers about the newly created position of staff developer in the middle schools of the San Diego City Schools, California. This study investigated the spring followup study that asked teachers what they thought about the new position and the work of…

A three-phase study identified current practice and potential good practice in the implementation of General National Vocational Qualifications in Britain. Although good practices were found, flaws were also apparent. A systematic induction program was deemed an integral part of implementation. (SK)

Check & Connect was created in a five year period from 1990 to 1995. The original manual, entitled "Keeping Kids in School: Using Check & Connect for Dropout Prevention" and written by David Evelo, Mary Sinclair, Christine Hurley, Sandra Christenson, and Martha Thurlow, was published in 1996 (ED398701). This newly revised Check…

The Model Teacher Induction Project (MTIP) is a research model program for the induction of beginning teachers. The program is being field tested along with a satellite project aimed at building and studying similar staff development programs. This paper reports on what has been learned from the MTIP and its satellite effort. A review of research…

In 1984-85 the Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (AIDP) Program was conducted in 32 New York City community school districts. A total of 32,387 students in kindergarten through grade 9 participated. Across all districts, 66 percent of the program students met the suggested criterion of 24 or more absences in 1983-84; and an additional 6.4…

This manual provides guidelines and resources for developing a year-long internship program conducted for staff development credit under the joint sponsorship of a college and a school system. The internship carries college credit and is designed for teachers who hold provisional teaching certificates. The first section presents a description of…

This article reports on one school district's planning for a school-based staff development program, focusing on preparations made by the staff developers before the program began. Conclusions are drawn about the planning and preparation for such a program. (MT)

Before schools purchase computer hardware and software, the district should set goals for their use, establish effective teacher training, and determine a realistic schoolwide implementation plan.(MD)

As part of a school reform program, focused initially on literacy the San Diego City Schools decided to create the position of school-based staff developer. Creating this position proved to be a daunting challenge, with considerable disagreement between the union and the school district. Data were collected about the early implementation of the…

This article offers some strategies for closing the linkage between initial needs assessment and the implementation of change. Examined are: prioritizing needs through criteria analysis, developing a cyclical implementation/staff inservice plan, and utilizing an analytical problem solving approach to curriculum and decision making. (Author/RAO)

Despite the growing popularity of Madeline Hunter's Program for Effective Teaching staff development model, there is little evidence that student achievement increases after such a program has been implemented. A recent study of South Carolina achievement test data corroborates this assertion. Coaching length and quality may be key factors in…

Charges that the Mandeville and Rivers article in the same "Educational Leadership" issue is seriously flawed for failing to address whether teachers actually used Hunter's Program for Effective Teaching techniques as intended. Only careful observation of the 25 participating teachers with two years' experience using the ideas could…

Commends Mandeville and Rivers' article in the same "Educational Leadership" issue for demonstrating familiarity with the Hunter staff development model and acknowledging the importance of proper implementation strategies. Presents evidence showing that abbreviated training periods and insufficient coaching are to blame for the model's…

Discusses some principles, considerations, and cautions for those creating staff development programs in whole language. Discusses factors necessary for effective implementation of whole-language programs. (RS)

Describes a balanced-curriculum process created by James Comer's School Development Program that involves describing and aligning the curriculum and assessing student mastery. The SDP's first goal is to establish a supportive school culture. The balanced-curriculum process helps broaden the developmental perspective by addressing student learning.…