Oregon's School Improvement and Professional Development Program (SIPD) was created to: (1) assist local district goal achievement; (2) establish site committees to initiate school improvement and shared decision making; and (3) provide professional development opportunities. The following outcomes are evaluated in this report: development of…

This publication is meant to share ideas about distance education and descriptions of work-in-progress in this area. In the first of three papers, "Computers, Related Devices and Distance Education: How Cinderella Becomes a Princess," George Hampton describes the need for technological literacy and suggests computer-assisted instruction…

This curriculum, designed to improve elementary school foreign language teacher training, was developed jointly by school teachers and university educators in North Carolina. It is based on the successful practices of current elementary school foreign language teachers, translated into desired teacher competencies. Introductory sections describe…

An eduator's self-analysis of changing beliefs about classroom relationships over the last 20 years are presented in this paper, with attention given to the philosophical and political issues of caring and controlling. Three phases of experience--student teaching, graduate school, and university teaching--are highlighted. The educator's approaches…

Findings of a study that examined the characteristics of women principals in Israel, as compared with research findings of the 1960s and 70s, are presented in this paper. Data were derived from interviews, questionnaires, and the written autobiographies of 36 aspiring or practicing women principals in Israel. Findings suggest that, overall, the…

During the 1990-91 school year, a study was completed on the school climate of a secondary professional development school (PDS). Since January 1989, Holt High School, an urban fringe high school located outside of Lansing, Michigan, had been designated a PDS. The major purposes of the study were to: (1) determine if changes in attitudes and…

This monograph presents six papers that analyze the current state of research and practice in continuing professional education. Papers address: (1) the problems confronting effective research and policymaking presented by the diverse and unorganized nature of the continuing professional education enterprise; (2) what is known concerning the…

At the core of the professional development school movement is the assumption that teachers' voices must be welcomed in the wider educational community through participation in mutual collaborative inquiry with university faculty. However, little thought has been given to the nature of teachers' voices, the dilemmas that arise when those voices…

This guide serves as an introduction to the Professional Development Program for Beginning Vocational Teachers. The program has a research base; its overall goal, as outlined in the guide, is to provide a flexible and adaptable mechanism for beginning vocational teachers to have a smoother transition into the field of teaching. The program…

Findings from a study that sought to determine the degree to which teachers used an inservice program for the implementation of a primary language and literacy program are presented in this paper. To measure teachers' level of use of the whole language philosophy of learning, the Language and Literacy Questionnaire was administered to 112 primary…

Outcomes of a teacher empowerment project implemented at a middle school are described in this paper, with a focus on the perspectives of a school administrator, a middle schools specialist, and a university faculty evaluator. The purpose of the project was to improve student achievement through establishing a school improvement team. From the…

This paper summarizes findings of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning (NECT&L), which conducted a comprehensive review of the relationship between time and learning in elementary-secondary education. The first section highlights salient research findings. The following sections provide information on these topics: general…

A study determined whether former participants in the Winthrop Writing Institutes (annual summer institutes based on the National Writing Project model) had improved classroom instruction in writing by using strategies taught in the institutes and whether they had continued to grow professionally. Surveys were returned by 49 of the 89 (1981 to…

This book digs into the tensions, contradictions, and uncertainties of teaching. The book explores how to "read" teaching, which involves the application to practice and research of "simple if neglected things" like noticing, wondering, reflecting, and holding an impression in the grip of an idea. The first chapter discusses the productive…

A discussion of the role of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) on its 25th anniversary addresses the following issues: (1) whether the organization has carried out its primary objective of advancing the learning and teaching of languages at all instructional levels; (2) whether SCOLT has worked to its fullest in fostering close…