Examines how Russo's humanistic-critical theory for social-action integration requires shifting staff development focused on knowing and caring about others to self-development that includes everyone. Rationale, resources, and successful action-practice models support and extend Russo's theory for responsible social-action education in a…

Career and technical educators are taking their own initiative and exploiting formal opportunities to practice what they preach to students by gaining first-hand knowledge of the business and industrial workplace. Work-based experiences give teachers knowledge of jobs and industry needs, connections with employers, equipment and resources, and…

Discusses the importance of conducting research on the impact of professional development on student learning, explaining why research has not provided any answers and describing an alternative approach that involves beginning from the end then working backward. The paper presents four staff-development principles common to the diverse mix of…

The Florida Assisting Change in Education Program teaches school leaders to facilitate the change process in schools. Training for school improvement facilitators teaches them to lead groups, encourage discussion, mediate differences, and create appropriate spirit for crafting and implementing school improvement plans. Evaluation of the program…

Questions and answers about staff development examine: what it is; why it is important; what teachers did not learn in college; collaboration; funding; connections between staff development and student learning; indicators of effective staff development; and improving staff development quality. Data come from six key national reports on…

Profiles of three introspective U.S. corporations show how they have taken significant steps to promote organizational learning. By considering the implications for schools, staff developers can foster organizational learning practices for professional development and school improvement. This paper discusses the learning organization as a common…

This interview with staff-development expert, Bruce Joyce, discusses the effect of staff development on student achievement, focusing on the importance of teachers and administrators continuously studying what they are implementing, research on how staff development affects student achievement, assessment as part of the process of instruction, the…

Discusses trends in outsourcing, provision of goods and services to an organization that were previously delivered in house. Addresses outsourcing in the public sector, advantages and disadvantages, implications for human resource development, and the shift to the new "psychological contract" between employers and employees. (Contains…

Explains how standardizing computer system hardware and software throughout the school campus can increase efficiency; reduce costs and acquisition lead time; and make training, technical support, and hardware replacement and repair easier. Questions to ask when choosing among different hardware and software systems are highlighted. (GR)

Korean human resource development practitioners (n=10) attended a training program on performance improvement technology. All showed a high perceived degree of learning, but more in skill than conceptual areas. There were different degrees of transfer, some due to lack of opportunities or lack of relevance to the job. (SK)

Despite increasing education-related litigation activity (and costs) since 1960, the model for preventing such lawsuits has remained unchanged since then. Although administrative knowledge and competent legal counsel are critical to any district's effective operation, a middle- or high-school teacher's lack of knowledge, expertise, and experience…

Staff development should be a process in which members of an organization examine and improve their professional performance constantly. Specialists in staff development, with interest in the newer educational technologies, should resist the temptation to push technologies on colleagues and should foster critically reflective teamwork rooted in…

Explores two models for study groups as staff development for counselors. Elementary counselors studied reflective listening in a district-wide self-led group; secondary counselor groups met first with a consultant and then formed study groups on their individual campuses (suggested topic: anger management). Session notes are appended for both…

Describes a quality management role playing technique designed for use by a virtual or networked organization as a cost-effective tool for staff training. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)

Analyzing teaching on the basis of student learning is consistent with cognitive perspectives on teaching that consider what students should know and be able to do, what the teacher can do to foster such learning, the teacher's success at achieving desired student outcomes, and how the teacher should improve instruction. (MLH)