Responding to the National Commission on Excellence in Education's report on the status of education in the United States, Secretary of Education, T. H. Bell, addresses six questions: (1) Given that the Commission discussed the federal, state, local, parental, and student roles and responsibilities, who should take the lead in education? (2) How…

Research and practice have shown that staff development is the key to the successful implementation of any effective schools project. Staff development is defined as the ongoing, job-related, research-based activity provided for employees to maintain and improve their competencies. Part 1 of this paper outlines components (such as district-level…

Two models for the structure of college/university Senates and Councils in in Western Australia are proposed, and 50 recommendations of the Tertiary Institutions Governance Committee are presented. The Committee reviewed the governance of: the Senates of the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University, and the Councils of the Western…

Internal and external changes affecting higher education and responses that student personnel workers can take are discussed. Societal changes that influence colleges include a declining birth rate, changing sex roles, and shifts to an information-based society. Notable political trends that affect colleges include accountability requirements,…

The use of rites and ceremonials to influence the practice of advising in the college setting is considered, with attention to rites of passage, enhancement, renewal, and integration. During the rite of passage, the new status of advisor is assumed and may be formally signified by distribution of the advisor handbook and informal socials with…

This module attempts to put participants into contact with the limited or stereotyped manner in which most of us view our world. By doing so, it sets the stage for examining ways to bring parents, employers, and school staff to an expanded world view, particularly as that view encourages wider career opportunities for youth. Training in developing…

Progress in bringing about equal employment conditions for academic women at the University of Alberta, Canada, is reviewed. In 1975 a Senate Task Force on the Status of Academic Women at the University of Alberta reported serious discrepancies in terms of salaries, rank, and participation in university governance between women and men. Each of…

This guidebook presents a variety of dropout prevention strategies and is intended to help readers determine which strategies are best suited for a particular classroom, school, or district. The primary audience is school personnel who work with young adolescents. It begins by addressing major dropout issues, primary research findings, and…

Results of the initial implementation of longitudinally-structured action research at the University of California, Irvine, are presented. The objective is to determine whether combining action research with an organizational cultures approach is a viable way to influence the culture of a research university. The intended outcomes include the…

In January 1982 the Further Education Curriculum Review and Development Unit (FEU) published a discussion paper dealing with the issues involved in expanding and improving Great Britain's vocational training and educational system. Following its publication and dissemination of the paper, the FEU sent a letter asking the major further and higher…

The recruitment and retention of faculty in business administration and accounting at the University of California (the University) and the California State University (the State University) are evaluated. An overview of education in business considers the location, type, and level of degree programs and concentrations in business-related fields…

Issues concerning the college as a community of inquiry, scholarship, and learning are considered, based on a 1982 conference at Colgate University. The conference addressed the problem of non-community in the academy, along with different conceptions of solving this problem. Conference participants described both typical experiences of academic…

Dropout prevention is emerging as the most important new issue in education. Broad demographic trends predict a continuing growth in the population of at-risk youth, those most likely to drop out of school. The overall goal of any dropout prevention activity is to reduce the number of at-risk students. This issue is devoted to what research and…

The National School Boards Association proposed to the United States Department of Education a project, "Building Character in the Public Schools," designed to enhance character development in the schools through involvement of more than 15,000 local school boards in this country. The project had two overall goals: to heighten national awareness…

Demographic changes affecting college students, faculty, and patrons and responses to the changes are considered. For each of the three groups, attention is directed to factors influencing change within and outside the campus, options available to the campus, and strategies for responding to the demographic changes. To recruit new full-time…