This mixed-methods study inquired about characteristics of districts which influence changes in student achievement and how those characteristics are developed. Staff in 49 Ontario districts were surveyed to estimate the status of nine district characteristics on changes in provincial tests of math and language achievement over five years. A…

According to a survey of U.S. and Canadian public school educators, both teachers and principals feel that teachers should be actively involved in initiating, planning, and implementing their own staff development programs. Teacher-directed staff development would focus on skill improvement and would be scheduled only during school hours. The…

Describes collaborative teacher and administrator training in cognitive coaching, a form of teacher supervision in which the administrator acts as a facilitator of teacher reflection on teacher's own teaching practices and the thinking behind them. Includes one principal's thoughts on his own professional development as he proceeded through the…

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, Swift Current Division in Saskatchewan, Canada, initiated the Chalk, Chips, and Children technology project. The project was funded by various corporate partners and developed by a broadly constituted advisory committee. The principal's role changed drastically as he reexamined leadership competencies and faculty developed their own…

This study focused on process measures to identify the major components of elementary school climate and to test the effectiveness of an intervention emphasizing the work of the principal. Nine schools of diverse size and in several locations in British Columbia formed the sample. Data included surveys of parents and teachers, interviews of…

Research findings, supported by other research projects, identify the elements relevant to school improvement as school focus, school autonomy, and staff development. A chart based on three recent major literature reviews provides a comprehensive listing of supportable assertions regarding unusually effective institutions. (MLF)

These papers represent the efforts of individual researchers from five countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, The Netherlands and the United States. Each paper reports on educational change in a different country, based on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model developed at the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of…

This document, the seventh in a series on diversity in the classroom, offers strategies for general education teachers to help them provide an appropriate education to students with exceptional needs within the regular classroom. Section 1, "Introduction," examines definitions and the organization of the document. Section 2,…

Although effective schools research has indicated the need for an added emphasis on increasing student achievement within a satisfying learning climate, the issue of how best to implement this research has been perplexing for both researchers and practitioners. Different approaches are being tried in two rural Saskatchewan school divisions. In…

Interviews with 12 principals of K-12 schools in rural Saskatchewan examined practices enacted in 1992-93 to lessen the effects of the farm economic crisis on students. A seven-section literature review describes the financial, personal, family, and community components of the farm crisis in Canada and the United States and provides an overview of…