Among the assumed benefits of cooperative ventures between universities and school systems is that the increased knowledge flow between the institutions should result in more relevant university programs and more theoretically and conceptually grounded decisions in the school system. However, the St. Louis (Missouri) area lacks a formal…

Seven author-contributed papers focus on excellence in urban special education schools. Libby Goodman reviews the isolation of special education teachers and children, in "The Effective School Movement and Special Education," while Dan L. Peterson et al. trace the implications for the Seattle School District of the efforts described in…

School camping began with three movements in American society: children's camping, which has been traced back as far as 1823; the Nature Study Movement, which is thought to have begun as early as 1839; and the holistic "new education." In 1940, L. B. Sharp opened National Camp in New Jersey and Julian W. Smith initiated the Clear Lake…

This report presents 23 research abstracts that investigate the effects of feedback on job performance. A narrative that precedes the abstracts lists generalizations and conclusions that are representative of the studies presented in the report. It concludes that the studies reviewed confirm that feedback improves the performance of subordinates.…

Adult learning theory and research on professional development provide a rich background context for examining school leader development for school improvement. The literature on adult learning theory identifies the following generalities about adults as learners: age reduces the speed of learning; adult learners bring life experiences to bear on…

The purpose of this report was to examine the progress of 60 local school districts toward attaining the goals of Missouri's Career Ladder Program. The goals were identified as teacher retention, teacher responsibility, professional growth, teacher sharing, teacher collaboration, and student enhancement. The assessment documents of 58 ladder…

This report presents results of the first product evaluation of the Saginaw School District's Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool (MECEP) program. The MECEP operated at five elementary sites, with 154 pupils participating. The goal of the program was to provide 4-year-olds with an environment that would enable them to develop school…

A practicum designed to facilitate the transition of Head Start children to kindergarten was implemented by the education coordinator of a Head Start program. The program served 945 poverty-level children in 35 classrooms and 20 home-based sites in 35 school districts in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Practicum goals were to prepare children for…

Staff development coordinators in the Georgia school systems responded to a survey to assess their perceptions of the administrative needs of their school districts. Of the 61 needs surveyed, staff development coordinators selected staff morale and group dynamics as their most critical areas of need, followed by evaluating program effectiveness…

In response to a desire for an additional, low-cost program of faculty and staff development, Buffalo State College has developed a series of workshop/seminar sessions presented during the break between the fall and spring semesters. Called Winterim, the program offers sessions on a wide variety of academic, professional, and instructional topics…

Vocational education has accurately forecast the detrimental effects of increased graduation requirements. The initial response of vocational education has taken a variety of forms, some initiated at the state level, some by local boards and schools, and some addressed on a national or multistate level. The most consistent strategies pursued by…

This report discusses "Readings in Educational Research," a project that resulted from a discussion of the 1986 professional development staff of the Washington Education Association, who showed an interest in bringing teachers closer to the research process and their own professional development. The difficulties of using educational research as…

In 10 chapters, this book offers a clear nonlinear vision for continuously preparing professional and classified staff for the purpose of improving schools and student academic achievement. Chapter 1 shows the importance of inservice education and provides a rationale for conducting systematic, if not empirically based, programs. Chapter 2 details…

Using tools from ethonography, this study constructed a model of reflective practice drawn from the words and actions of a small group of field-based educators identified as being exemplary practitioners. The model portrayed a purposeful and dynamic process in which acute attention to context and factors was weighed against consciously evaluated…

This investigation of computer anxiety as one of the components of resistance to technology among staff in academic libraries focused on its effects on: (1) their level of participation in a library computer literacy program; and (2) their attitudes toward library automation and computers in general. To measure computer anxiety, the Computer…