In education systems around the world, planners and policymakers are calling for more attention to whole-system improvement. To best address teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and improve their practice. The middle tier of education systems, composed of professionals…

This guide aims to present district instructional leaders and staff with a core set of criteria for what high-quality professional development entails. What makes this particular document different and useful is the focus on practical issues of district-level implementation in multiple teaching and learning environments. This is a guide designed…

The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's Implementation Study, which uses interview and survey…

The school principal has a key role in working with teachers to enhance the school as a learning community. Chapter 1 discusses the standards that emanate from such organizations as the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and that serve as a basis for designing staff…

Secondary principals can promote staff development by adopting eight instructional leadership behaviors that promote teacher involvement, exhibit knowledge of the field, establish high standards, maintain high principal visibility, recognize achievement, and encourage change. (PGD)

Provides a list of 35 suggestions to help new principals avoid pitfalls and strengthen their position as administrator. (MD)

A collaborative approach brought together 31 new administrators from a 3-county region in Illinois and Missouri for a university-based staff development program. Nine monthly sessions were held with themes that included problem solving, grant writing, staff development, and school improvement. Summarizes participants' evaluation of the program…

If teachers are to use computers in the classroom or train students to use computers, they must first be trained themselves. This training should provide knowledge of educational computer applications, computer terms and operations, courseware evaluation techniques, and elementary programing skills. An ongoing staff development program should also…

Ways in which teachers and principals respond to changing leadership roles and some practical steps that principals can take to support leadership are discussed in this article review. It focuses on five papers that explore educators' roles, offering advice on how to respond to changing expectations. "When is New: A Plan of Action" (A. W. Hart)…

This paper is intended to supplement the relatively scant amount of information available to principals on mentoring and mentor programs for beginning teachers. Suggestions include: learning the basic principles of effective new teacher mentor programs with respect to design, implementation, and evaluation; understanding the local new teacher…

This review of research on instructional improvement and teacher evaluation considers the complex issues affecting the K-8 principal's ability to enhance educational quality through effective supervision of the instructional process. According to several studies, teachers found formal evaluations far less valuable than direct assistance and…

Reports the results of a survey of teachers in the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools regarding their preferences for staff development and draws implications for other schools. (Author/JM)

In 1980 the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Public Schools recognized needs for significant improvement in staff evaluation, student achievement, individual school effectiveness, and the clarification of systemwide objectives and expectations. The instructional leadership committee appointed to establish a unified approach to effective instruction…

This book presents seven steps for principals to improve their leadership skills. These seven steps have been tested by practitioners and validated by research. Chapter 1 sets forth the differences between leadership and instructional leadership and defines the critical attributes of the latter. Chapters 2 through 8 describe the seven steps in…

This book presents information from a 5-year research project on teacher leadership which offers evidence that the answer to school vitality lies largely in the redefinition of traditional leadership in education and in the elevation of the perception, status, and role of classroom teachers. The research involved interviews with teachers and…