Surveys of teachers in comprehensive public secondary schools in England, the United States, Japan, Singapore, and West Germany, 1986-88, identified universal elements of classroom culture and country-specific factors that enhance teacher job satisfaction. However, most teachers in all samples felt powerless and of low professional status. (SV)

Effects of a staff development program on the professional lives of four elementary school teachers were studied. The Teacher in Residence partnership of the University of Alabama brings experienced teachers to the college for terms as adjunct faculty, allowing them to clarify what they have known and recommit to teaching. (SLD)

Describes library staff motivation, cooperation, and productivity related to a major library move at the William Russell Pullen Library at Georgia State University. Results of a survey that examined the impact of such a move on staff attitudes and morale are reported. (seven references) (EA)

The nature, causes, consequences, and symptoms of stress and burnout among health-care staff working with people affected by HIV are identified. The extent to which these characteristics are specific to HIV/AIDS workers is discussed. Some options for prevention and management of burnout are presented. (Author)

Describes a first-year teacher's experience teaching unruly seventh graders and how she has learned, to a degree, to smile and to be patient, and find consolation in those students who have written to her to express how much she has helped them through her teaching and counseling. (TB)

Describes ways in which professional development activities can be rewarding. Offers details from a support staff event at Wytheville Community College in Virginia as a template for a successful event. Focuses on planning, instruction, humor, camaraderie, and appreciation. (NB)

This study with 77 special education teachers examined degrees of burnout and number of heterogeneous disability categories, caseload size, and proportion of students with emotional impairments. Only the proportion of emotionally impaired students affected teacher burnout by increasing depersonalization. Burnout was also related to dissatisfaction…

Research on bullying has demonstrated the negative effects it has on both protagonist and victim. Schools ignore this dynamic at their own risk because ridicule can also lead to explosive incidents. Schools need to address this challenge by replacing a culture of hostile cliques with a climate of respect. (BF)

Approximately 70% of American high schools enroll 1000 or more students each, while almost one half of high schools enroll more than 1500 students each. A growing booty of evidence, however, is showing that small schools, especially small secondary schools, result in positive benefits for students, families, and communities that go beyond letter…

This study focuses on schoolteacher job satisfaction, dissatisfaction, morale, and facets of professional experience likely to lead to retention or exit from the profession within five years. It was undertaken in an English local education authority which has experienced difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers. Forty facets of professional…

This practicum was designed to develop an incentive program for family home day care providers employed by an agency in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada, that was undergoing a change from for-profit to non-profit status. During the period of changeover, provider uncertainty as to their status led to declining morale, lack of focus, and resistance to…

This is the ninth in a series of biennial surveys of Texas public school teachers, which have been taken since 1980 to form a database of demographic information related to characteristics of Texas teachers. A computerized systematic sample of Texas teachers (N=599) was selected from a population of 100,000 members of the Texas State Teachers…

Strategies for teacher retention are presented, including successful approaches and elements for operating a state system for personnel recruitment and retention in special education. Such initiatives as the Utah Mentor Teacher Academy; the Texas Teacher Recruitment, Retention and Assistance Program; and the Kansas Recruitment/Retention Project…

Research on school effectiveness has underscored the importance of the personal investment and commitment of teachers to education in general, as well as to the particular mission of their own school. This paper presents three analyses that examined the relationships among teachers' perceptions of school leadership, school culture, and teacher…

Findings of a study that determined factors of beginning teachers' work and career choice commitment and retention are presented in this paper. The data consisted of a nationally representative sample of first-year K-12 public and private, full- and part-time teachers derived from the 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The final subsample…