The thesis of this paper is that, although the concept of teacher support groups is well accepted, their implementation is haphazard at best. Three reasons are cited: (1) Professional literature often mandates conditions for establishing support groups that are unrealistic for most schools; (2) Teachers sometimes see the support group as another…

This paper outlines 6 principles for inservice educators and others engaged in staff development for early childhood programs. Principle 1 recommends that inservice educators focus on modifying a teacher's understandings (the constructions, concepts, or schemata relevant to his or her work) rather than on giving prescriptions for behavior.…

In this series of aphoristic remarks about the situation of English teachers in the junior college, the following topics are discussed: administrative structure and accountability; teacher load; part time instructors and professionalism; Proposition 13; literacy and junior college students; evaluation of student papers; careerism in teachers and…

Many teachers resist staff development programs because they believe that "staff development" is a euphemism for "staff evaluation" and are suspicious of an administration collecting quantitative material on teaching for any reason. Similarly, there exists a competitiveness among teachers that precludes complete trust. In recent years, an increase…

SEVEN HUNDRED SEVEN NAVAL AVIATION TRAINEES FROM THREE STAGES OF TRAINING WERE ADMINISTERED AN ANONYMOUS QUESTIONNAIRE THAT ASKED THEM TO GIVE THEIR OWN DEFINITION OF MORALE. THEY WERE THEN INSTRUCTED TO RATE THEIR OWN MORALE ON A TEN-POINT SCALE USING THEIR DEFINITION AS A FRAME OF REFERENCE. A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE DEFINITIONS IDENTIFIED THE…

Approaches to obtaining valid information for evaluating faculty and the issue of alcoholism and job performance are addressed. Among the complications to this undertaking is the existence of an invalid self-perception on the part of faculty that they are not employees of the institution, and a tolerance among faculty for deviance or eccentricity.…

Initiated in 1968 for "hardcore unemployables," the Adolph Coors Manpower Challenge Program combines a modified Outward Bound Course with a period of work in the Coors Recycling Yard, followed by permanent placement in the Coors Brewery. Based on changing participants' attitudes, the program eases transition to full employment in four…

The incremental validity of two high-inference, multiple-dimension measures of student and teacher perceptions of their school environment was investigated. Incremental validity was described as accounting for increasing amounts of criterion variance (average daily attendance and achievement on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills) with a set of…

WRITTEN FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF A TAXPAYING-PARENT, THIS LETTER DISCUSSES A NUMBER OF FACTORS RELATED TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BETWEEN TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS AND LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION. BY VIRTUE OF SALARY PROVISION THROUGH TAXES AND PARENTAL CONCERN FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION, THE PUBLIC HAS A GENUINE STAKE IN TEACHER-SCHOOL BOARD BARGAINING.…

This report evaluates three New York City school district educational projects funded by the "New York State Urban Education Program" enacted at the 1969 legislative session of the New York State Legislature for the purpose of "meeting special educational needs associated with poverty." Project Read represents an attempt to…

This study examines the relationship of organizational variables to teacher motivation. It seeks to determine what differences, if any, exist between the organizational structures of multiunit (MUS) and non-multiunit (NMUS) individually guided education (IGE) elementary schools. The unit of analysis consists of MUS and NMUS elementary schools in…

Approximately 40 percent of America's Indians live in urban environments; of these, about 12,000 live in Seattle, Washington. With no representation in local government, and lacking the power and cultural sophistication to make the political process work for them, many Indian emigres have developed an almost institutionalized distrust of and…

The objective of the second part of a larger research study (which was designed to study and assess the adult basic education (ABE) program in Nebraska at the local level from January 1, 1971 to December 31, 1974 and to assess the local community awareness of the ABE program) was to survey the present adult basic education teacher occupational…

Explains motivation as part of the problem of discipline. Explains sage analysis and its value and pinpointing likely causes of discipline failure in the educational system. Identifies six probable causes of discipline failure as identified through sage analysis in two school districts and suggest strategies for avoiding that failure. (SB)

In 1994 Ethiopia committed to expanding its education system, particularly at the primary level, to reach previously marginalized communities. The unprecedented expansion of the education system resulted in large classes with few resources. The reforms aimed to implement student-centered, active learning, but the new approach was not reflected in…