Perspectives concerning search committees for college faculty and administrators are considered. Most of the existing literature on college and university search committees deals with general presidential and, to a lesser extent, with administrative searches. Search committees are a fairly recent phenomenon in higher education, and their growth is…

In educational settings, it is becoming common for members of groups to be forced to choose among more than two candidates, programs, or objectives. When no majority favors any one of three or more alternative choices, there are several rational, although arbitrary, ways to proceed. The first attempt at making the choice ought to adopt the…

This document examines legal issues in the negligent hiring and retention of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction school employees. There are no statutes that relate specifically to negligent hiring or retention; it is a judicially created area of law. This document centers around employees who cause injury to school children, but the…

This resource book is intended to help parents identify good books for their children by offering a list of the best contemporary Australian books for children and by explaining ways to recognize what qualities to look for in new and unfamiliar books. The first section of the book answers some common questions about why books and reading aloud are…

With the increased funding made available by California Assembly Bill 1725, community college faculty members have the opportunity to inform themselves and make changes in policy regarding the disabled. The disabled are often overlooked as a special interest or underrepresented group in affirmative action plans. Individuals involved with the…

The results of a National Institute of Education research project indicate that despite their key roles in making schools effective, principals are chosen in a process "ridden with chance" and are frequently selected because of their "images" rather than for their qualities as educational leaders. Vacancy announcements are rarely publicized widely…

Current studies suggest that school districts may not be hiring the most promising graduates of teacher training programs. The first chapter of this publication reviews this research and proposes three possible explanations for the hiring failures: the complexity of the teaching function, insufficient attention to hiring, and inadequate selection…

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching were awarded for the first time in October 1983. This bulletin spotlights the two Oregon mathematics teachers who were nominated by the state for the national award. Sue McGraw and Fred Board are master teachers with unique, individual, and exceptional classroom teaching…

The article offers guidelines for choosing a classroom computer and the necessary software. (SB)

School boards can improve their schools if they focus on four factors that educational research says most strongly influence school effectiveness. The four factors are (1) the time students spend on the subject matter each day, (2) textbooks, (3) teachers and their teaching methods, and (4) principals' support to help teachers achieve…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit reports results of a survey of ARL (Association of Research Libraries) that examined the nature and structure of the interview process at large research and academic libraries in the United States and Canada. By determining the nature and structure of the interview, it is hoped that candidates…

The seven articles in this focused journal issue are concerned with choosing books for teaching and the various constraints on those choices. The first article, by Richard Lederer, discusses George Orwell's "1984" and the principles of Newspeak. His article sets the tone for the next two articles: "Beware the Misuse of…

One of a series dealing with current issues affecting language arts instruction, this paper brings into focus some of the issues surrounding textbooks in the schools so that informed decisions can be made regarding textbook selection and use. The major portion of the paper explores professional opinions regarding textbooks, noting the following:…

To help coordinate the effort of filling school staff positions, this brief article pinpoints the responsibilities of the school, board, superintendent, school attorney, and personnel director, and identifies the steps in the hiring process. The school board's role, which goes far beyond being a rubber stamp, is described as including both its…

The decision of whether to use essay tests or multiple choice tests depends on several qualifiers related to the different characteristics of the tests and the needs of the situation. The most important qualifier involves matching the type of test to the instructional objectives being tested, with multiple choice tests being used to measure a…