In summer 2003, two of the contributors to this article--Andrew Hershberger, a third-year assistant professor, and Dan Madigan, a faculty development director--met to talk about "balance" in the lives of junior faculty. How, for example, can faculty in the early stages of their careers better negotiate their roles as teachers and scholars at…

The purpose of this literature review is to explore the role of professional collaboration within the school context as a means of improving the quality and retention of beginning special education teachers (SETs). The assumption underlying the review is that the local school context in which new SETs work should also function as the primary…

In this study we examined the effects of online follow-up and online peer interaction following a face-to face professional development workshop on attitudes towards that professional development and completion of a professional development task. School librarians were invited to work online on a three page plan outlining interventions a library…

Students' literacy achievement tends to lessen as they progress from elementary to middle level to high school as measured by state and national assessments. To ensure that secondary school students retain their literacy skills, many states and districts have created the position of literacy coach for middle and high schools. Literacy coaches are…

Introduction: In academic health centers, the number of physician investigators and the number of research studies headed by clinicians has been declining. The U.S. Institute of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health suggest improved mentoring is important to reversing these trends. Methods: This is a case study review of the role of…

This study examined the role of self-disclosure within protege/mentor dyads in formal mentoring partnerships within a corporate context as a means of learning more about specific relationship processes that may enhance the positive outcomes of mentoring. While both proteges and mentors self-disclosed in their relationships, proteges disclosed at a…

More and more school districts are interested in school-based coaching as a method to directly influence student learning. However, school-based coaches face complex challenges. The shift to teaching adults from teaching children is dramatic. Coaches are no longer closely connected to a group of students, but instead are focused on adult learning…

Independent reviewer evaluations of the Ministry of Education (MoE) funded Principal Professional Learning Community (PPLC) programme for experienced principals in New Zealand (NZ) suggest a highly valued and strongly supportive programme. My own critique of the programme, against criteria for "strong" professional learning communities…

Research on mentoring in higher education is increasingly widespread. This article aims to provide insight into different kinds of mentoring programs and the research conducted to determine the effectiveness of these programs. A review of the literature revealed multiple definitions of what mentoring means, how programs operate, and types of…

This paper describes how two people, a professor in educational administration and a graduate student who acted as coach, used the coaching process as a part of collaborative action research. It focuses on the professor-coach interpersonal issues of mutual trust, new learning, and autonomy. The graduate student was an expert in coaching methods…

Volunteer work for nonprofit organizations should increase performance and yet be fun for the participants. This book draws on 40 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations. Presented in the form of board minutes, the book offers a humorous look at the board meetings of a fictional nonprofit organization. (LMI)

An illustrative story of a graduate student serves to show that as the literate discourse community lives out the tension between those who initiate shared power and those who maintain traditional standards, discourse communities can include or exclude others by using the power of leadership. Discourse communities act through professional…

This paper investigates the composition of women's mentoring relationships. The traditional male mentoring model is rejected in favor of an alternative model that more closely reflects female mentoring relationships. The paper proposes that women's friendships may serve as a closer match to their mentoring relationships than the traditional male…

Nine ways for school executives to provide essential support for their superintendent's concept of the management team are: (1) speaking positively about the superintendent when talking to teachers, parents, students, and members of the community; (2) keeping the superintendent informed of events, achievements, and problems; (3) seeking the…

A study considered the relationships of trial lawyers and news reporters, using the coorientation measurement model and Q-methodology, and adapting an analysis of variance experimental design. Sixty statements were constructed and administered to 24 subjects (12 trial lawyers and 12 news reporters) in two large midwestern cities. It was found…