This issue of "Focus" includes seven essays addressing various concerns related to community college curriculum, instruction, and instructors. "Money, and the Good of Humanities," by Dr. Demont H. Howell, explores the utility of humanities education in preparing students for coping with the present and the future. "Teaching High Level Thinking in…

Approaches to studying the relationships between stress and school organizational sources of stress were examined. Rather than sampling a number of schools and school average data indicating school health and stress levels in these schools, simple teacher samples and teacher-level analyses were used. For a sample of 1300 high school teachers in…

The latest title in the popular Spotlight series, this timely book focuses on issues involving recruitment and retention of music teachers, a crucial issue in these days of budget constraints. Arranged chronologically, it features a collection of articles from state journals focusing on issues such as mentoring, teacher shortages, burnout, and…

Projected teacher shortages are due to an expanding need and teachers leaving the profession. With the extreme pressures on beginning teachers, a large percentage of them leave the profession within their first 5-6 years. Causes for leaving the profession include school staffing actions; personal reasons; pursuing another job; and dissatisfaction.…

Teachers' decisions about staying in a position are influenced by three classes of variables: employment, personal, and external. In a North Dakota study of the relationship between these variables and job retention in rural areas, 42 special education teachers and related service personnel who had left their positions in the past year (leavers)…

Evidence suggests that teacher burnout has significant impact on the quality of education and on teacher job satisfaction. Its causes include job stress and organizational structures or professional relationships. Reduction of burnout may come from such strategies as increased teacher role differentiation, greater teacher support, and improved…

Uses a structural equation model to examine the three elements of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)--emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment--in relation to job exit among child protective services workers over a 15-month period. The model was supported, showing the relevance of all three MBI elements of job exit.…

Suggests teachers' role in educational reform is small because most of their time is spent in the classroom. Educational policy made by administrators, legislators, and publishers, leaves teachers powerless and frustrated. Calls for process allowing teachers to work in parallel with decision makers. (TES)

Reports on an attempt to raise teacher salaries through an extended contract made possible through year-round school schedules. Teacher satisfaction with the 1987 experiment in three California schools (the Orchard Plan) has been high. Elements that have contributed to job satisfaction are discussed. (SLD)

This paper describes the effects of a labor dispute upon teacher trainees in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) alternative training program. The individual stories highlight the stress a labor dispute places on those who do not have the status of full-time teachers or prospective teachers in a traditional teacher education program.…

Stress factors affecting community college educators in Ontario were determined using a questionnaire survey. The effect of demographic variables (campus location, program types and specialization, gender, age, and years taught at the college) on perceived stress levels were evaluated. Participants rated their present stress levels on a…

Provided are summaries of conference presentations discussing aspects of birth, parent/child interaction, and attachment behavior. Material in part I explores perspectives on pregnancy and the perinatal period. Included are discussions of birth in nonindustrial societies, progress in the study of maternal behavior in animals, the physiological…

Through the extensive use of teachers' reports, the many and varied stresses endured by teaching staff and their reactions to them are identified. In focusing on the dual problem of reducing pressures on teaching staff and strengthening their coping resources, this book calls attention to a series of issues within education. Chapters are devoted…

In response to the current crisis in the field of nursing, a study examined nursing students' perceived work-related stress and differences among associate degree, diploma, and baccalaureate nursing programs in their preparation of nursing students. The 171 subjects, representing the three different nursing programs, completed a questionnaire…

This study investigates "burn-out" and turnover among workers in child care settings. A total of 95 persons working in 32 child care centers in San Francisco were interviewed by telephone. One-fifth of the centers in the city were represented and both public and private centers were included. Each category of center was proportinately…