Adult learning theory and research on professional development provide a rich background context for examining school leader development for school improvement. The literature on adult learning theory identifies the following generalities about adults as learners: age reduces the speed of learning; adult learners bring life experiences to bear on…

Selected research studies useful for planning, conducting, and evaluating school staff development are reviewed, and a set of eight features common to the research is outlined. (MP)

The demand, supply, sponsorship, and need for staff development and training activities for middle level college administrators is examined through interviews with nearly 200 administrators and faculty at 20 colleges and universities, and a review of the literature. It is explained that middle level staff serve three functions--as liaison with…

As local pressures mount and state resources dwindle, intermediary organizations are emerging throughout Latin America. Although theoretically enabling people at the grass roots to participate in their own development and reap the benefits of their labor, the costs and tensions are often not worth the burden. Explores the quandaries that new…

A search of the literature was made on the effectiveness of recruitment and selection procedures for identifying and retaining administrators and school staff who are effective in managing student conflict and alienation. A classification scheme devised to fit approaches to school discipline within a theoretical framework includes (1) the…

For this overview of the extent and feasibility of practitioner involvement in professional improvement, practitioners are defined as school-based professionals--teachers, aides, resource specialists, and administrators. Current thought on the need for these individuals to play major roles as decision makers in developing inservice programs is…