Suggests that improving teachers' job satisfaction is paramount in an era where half of new teachers drop out of the profession in the first five years. Discusses sources of teacher dissatisfaction, benefits of collegial investment, shared leadership, support meetings, mentoring, and lessening dissatisfaction. (RS)

A survey of 222 large-city administrators indicated that 76.7% approved of co-worker friendships but fewer supported friendships across the vertical hierarchy. Despite risks (gossip, romances, distraction), there was strong agreement on rewards: mutual support, improved work environment and communication, support for diversity. Ways to encourage…

This article identifies the different approaches to speech and language difficulties commonly used by speech and language therapists and by teachers and suggests that an integration of these frameworks could provide more comprehensive support for a wider range of children with language and communication difficulties. (Author/CR)

Stories that were written by my grandfather at the turn of the 20th century spiraled into my daily life as a nurse-teacher at the turn of the 21st century. In this paper, I explore a common plotline of my Afi (Islandic for grandfather) and me as pioneers by linking his life stories to the tensions I experience in my contemporary professional…

This article explores how two African American professors both "outsiders" to the inner workings of the academy created a support system, which began nearly 10 years ago as a part of their formal advisee/advisor relationship. When they began their relationship one was a junior African-American female faculty member (promoted to associate professor…

In surveys, research university faculty often report that they value teaching more than their departments do. This incongruence holds implications for job satisfaction, stress, time spent on teaching, organizational continuity, and even student evaluations. Using an interactionist view of organizations, Mary C. Wright examines the reasons for this…

"Teachers are leaders when they function in professional communities to affect student learning; contribute to school improvement; inspire excellence in practice; and empower stakeholders to participate in educational improvement" (Childs-Bowen, Moller, & Scrivner, 2000, p. 28). Enhancing teacher leadership can help schools and districts reach the…

Studying one's profession, especially when done in community with others, where the learning is richer and deeper, has not been the norm in the education community. Educators typically have been physically isolated from each other because of the structure of school facilities and the schedules that dominate the school day. This physical isolation…

In this paper we examine the discourses of Primary school numeracy coordinators responsible for auditing, monitoring and supporting their colleagues in relation to the introduction and embedding of the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) in the UK. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) focuses our analysis on the contradictory coupling of…

The purpose of this article is to present a supervision model applicable to group work. This model uses a 3 x 3 x 3 conceptual system that synthesizes concepts from the discrimination model and group systemic levels to provide a framework for supervisors of group workers in training. Discussion of the model includes considerations for group…

New assistant principals find their new leadership role quite different from their previous work as teachers. This book, based on a 5-year study, addresses the realities of day-to-day life for new assistant principals (APs) in secondary schools. The book presents the actual experiences of men and women who made the transition from teacher to…

The Cooperative Alliance, funded by the U.S. Department of Education in 1990, is a partnership among three agencies--Kent State University (KSU), Cleveland Public Schools' (CPS) Center for School Improvement, and International Business Machines (IBM) EdQuest Corporation--to enhance educational planning for minority and/or educationally…

This three-part report describes the development and operations of the faculty mentoring program at Charles County Community College, in Maryland. First, the history and goals of the program are reviewed and the mentoring process is described, indicating that faculty are offered mentors at the beginning of each semester, mentors are paid $100 and…

Project Success was initiated to identify the good things that happen in American public education. One thousand administrators nationwide, identified by their peers as successful were asked to describe their leadership characteristics and beliefs about education. Responses were received from 491 administrators. Chapter 1 presents sample…

This report presents a two-part discussion of models of mentoring in higher education. The first part provides an overview of the career and psychosocial roles of the mentor most often cited in the literature. The second part examines several studies of graduate mentoring in higher education, specifically those of J. Holland (1995); Kathleen T.…