Describes a year-long staff development course called "Exploring the Possibilities with Portfolios" that developed into a small and close-knit community. Notes that the group learned they could not separate their personal and professional lives, and that it was fundamental to the group's success that they acknowledge strengths and weaknesses,…

A cognitive-science revolution, reminiscent of Dewey's Progressive Education Movement, will profoundly affect future educational policy and practice. A comprehensive brain theory will emerge out of Darwin's discoveries about natural selection as a scientific explanation for biodiversity, Einstein's theoretical reconceptualization of…

Discusses interrelations between administrators and faculty and how academic freedom can be negatively impacted. Suggests that by cutting costs and overloading faculty, administrators are contributing indirectly to a dissatisfied student. Addresses the importance of having a very clear grievance process composed primarily of elected faculty…

Assesses the value of a counselor-led training program for teachers and investigates its effects on classroom environment, student behavior, student achievement and attendance, and locus of control. Results indicate a significant improvement in overall student achievement and in internalized locus of control in the first and fifth grades. (RJM)

Presents a staff-development model for implementing a schoolwide conflict-management plan. Discusses an urban middle school's ongoing conflict-management plan to illustrate a conflict prevention and management strategy shaped by the school's culture and climate realities. Program effectiveness improves when a philosophical orientation is…

Notes the different labor acts and policies that create confusion over whether centers must pay staff for training time if such training is required by law. Also notes state variations on this matter. (MOK)

This paper describes a year-long staff development program to improve the evaluation skills of 77 district program coordinators. Results suggest that training, based on the Purdue Three-Stage Model, was effective in helping coordinators become more skilled program evaluators. Implications for program evaluation, personnel development, and outcomes…

Describes the Head Start-Johnson & Johnson Management Fellows program, whose mission is strengthening management skills of Head Start directors by providing training in human resources management, organizational design and development, financial management, computers and information systems, operations, marketing, and development of strategic…

College and university strategic planning works best when staff performance appraisal and development are used together to bring about both organizational and individual change. However, these must be more than bureaucratic exercises unrelated to daily staff management. Individual staff must be able to see themselves as important in carrying out…

New computers often collect dust in the classroom. Too much technology planning concentrates on hardware and software, to the detriment of staff development. An Arizona principal developed a successful inservice plan for teachers involving basic training, intensive small-group training sessions, and creation of certified resident experts in…

Each Oregon school is required to have a council responsible for developing a staff development plan, improving the instructional program, and coordinating school-reform efforts. During the Eugene district's implementation phase, central-office administrators played a key role in providing organizational development training and in allocating…

This paper profiles Anna Steffin, principal of a Canadian elementary school, who has built a community of learners among her teachers and encourages quality staff development, collegiality, parent participation, and parent teacher cooperation. She promotes her beliefs by being an active participant in all activities. (SM)

In 1989, the state of Texas implemented a broad initiative to improve instruction through using technology. A survey of teachers in the Fort Worth Independent School District identified four factors (time, training, technology availability, and teacher-type tasks) critical to technology integration. The district offers Trainer Institute, Bootcamp,…

States that professional development programs, though they run the gamut from fledgling to comprehensive, have developed over the last three decades as a result of the rapid growth of the community college. Examines some of the early struggles of the professional development movement and discusses future challenges. (AUTH/NB)

A study of 16 individuals with severe and profound mental retardation and 16 direct-care staff from a residential facility investigated changes in interactive behaviors between clients and staff. Results found that, after staff training, there were slight positive increases in staff interactions with the residents. No consistent change was found…