A study compared 100 Norwegian teachers with a matched group of non-teachers who were attending a four-week vocational rehabilitation program on work environment, family relations, health, personal economy, and leisure-time activity. Teachers scored significantly lower than nonteachers on the family relations axis and on a sum score of all…

Presents suggestions for ways early childhood administrators can respond to situations leading to termination of a staff member. Includes discussion of staff evaluation methods, the erosion of trust between the employee and employer, the importance of personally informing staff of a dismissal, directing staff to work together efficiently to repair…

In many countries today teaching has been identified as one of the most stressful occupations. The total annual cost of stress to the British Education Service has been estimated as high as 360 million U.S. dollars. The objective of this research study with teachers in the Department of Education at the University of Manchester was to identify…

Tacoma Community College (TCC), in Washington, has implemented a comprehensive professional development program to serve the training and development needs of its employees. Program goals include promoting student success through curriculum review and teaching development, increasing opportunities for professional development, building a positive…

This three-part pamphlet presents 52 ideas contributed by 19 administrators at California community colleges for boosting the morale and performance of college administrators and staff. Following a list of contributors, the first part provides 39 suggestions for acknowledging contributions and encouraging staff members, including writing short…

This book is about exceptionally effective school principals and how they meet the challenges for leadership in a new era of educational reform. It describes the major elements of successful facilitative leadership from the perspectives of teachers. Drawn from a study of highly successful principals affiliated with Carl Glickman's League of…

A residential group care facility serving abused children had encountered unprecedented changes both internally and in the community. These changes had been highly stressful for this agency, affecting the morale of those closest to the children, the Child/Youth Care Workers. To address these stressors, a strategy utilizing supportive,…

Central to the debates surrounding accountability, cost containment, and effectiveness in higher education are issues concerning faculty vitality and productivity. This paper proposes that the nature of faculty vitality and the interactions between individual and institutional vitality are different for comprehensive universities, particularly…

Indiana vocational home economics teachers completed questionnaires examining the extent of their participation in professional development activities. The study also explored the level of satisfaction with their jobs and the relationship of these two variables. Approximately two-thirds (n=350) of Indiana's teachers were asked to participate; 263…

Studies indicate that many teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years, and that often the most highly qualified and skilled teachers are the most likely to leave. Student-teachers and beginning teachers tend to have idealized aspirations for their teaching. However, the reality of secondary schools is that myriad forces will undermine…

Findings of a study that examined teachers' personal reasons for resigning are presented in this paper, which develops a model of teacher persistence. Interviews were conducted with 57 teachers who resigned from primary schools, and various regional and Head Office positions with the New Wales (Australia) Department of School Education during the…

In the wake of administrative reforms, curriculum revisions, and assessment requirements introduced in New Zealand in the late 1980s that increased workloads and stress for teachers, a survey studied the roles and workloads of primary school teachers. How workloads have changed, and how resulting pressures affected teachers' professional work,…

"A Computer for Every Teacher" was a project of the Indiana Department of Education to provide each teacher and administrator in four schools with a computer and printer for personal and professional use. This equipment was accompanied by software and realistic amounts of training. Its focus was to improve teacher productivity and to enhance…

Involving middle school students in decision making is an important way to make them feel that they are part of the educational process in their school, that they are part of the "school team." A key way to involve students is through the creation of a Student Advisory Board (SAB), such as the one in place at Schmucker Middle School in…

A study was conducted in England in 1990 to determine the impact of the l988 Education Act, which requires all primary school teachers of the 5-16 age group to pursue a common and detailed national curriculum in each subject. This legislation mirrors the trend within educational systems towards centrally determined goals with local responsibility…