For organisations to thrive, their employees need to be trained and developed. The training must be specific and targeted to the benefit of both the individual employee and the organisation they serve. The training and development can be for the development of the individual which will directly benefit the organisation. In reverse, whole…

In 1987, the Ohio Department of Education enacted a new policy requiring all school districts to plan and implement programs designed to provide support to newly hired professional educators. The mandate's intent was to ensure that inexperienced teachers, counselors, social workers, psychologists, supervisors, or administrators hired to work in…

A clinically-based innovative principalship program developed by the University of Alabama is described and selected elements are highlighted to illustrate potential problems in establishing and conducting clinical administrator preparation programs. University-based issues discussed include unclear knowledge base, lack of program structure and…

For the past five years, researchers at the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education have studied the role of school principals and other educational leaders in facilitating school improvement. Through this research, much has been learned about the school improvement process and what facilitators do on a daily basis to bring about…

The staff development program of the Elmira City School District, New York, is designed to assist teachers in teaching to the specific objectives of the curriculum, and to ensure that teachers have the requisite knowledge and skills to accomplish this. The plan provides an opportunity for every teacher, building administrator, and the…

This report details the plans and procedures developed by the Task Force on Management Development at Bucks County Community College, as well as the activities which resulted from that planning. The report begins by stating the charge of the Task Force, and the time frame during which the long- and short-term goals of management development could…

A project to promote role change for department heads in South African universities is discussed. Unique characteristics of universities in Southern Africa are also identified, including the fact that department heads have only limited decentralized authority over issues such as admission, personnel policy, and finances. Project goals were as…

As part of a larger 2-year study of the nature of excellent vocational educators who work in business and industry, this paper describes what has been learned from a number of case studies about trainer "certification" (preparation) programs in business and industry. More specifically, the paper describes the processes used to certify trainers and…

The task of improving educational administrator preparation is one of epic proportions. The magnitude of the task is expressed using allusions to the epic style and the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece. The paper presents a quick "environmental scan" to determine how visionary and revolutionary are some current ideas for improvements…

Earlier research by the Concerns-Based Adoption Model Project at the Austin campus of the University of Texas has identified seven "Stages of Concern" that teachers and other front line users of classroom innovations could have. This study examines, first, whether principals have the same or similar stages of concern about their change…

In view of recent public demands for the establishment of minimum competency standards in a number of areas, including oral communication skills, and in view of classroom teachers' frequently inadequate training in speech communication, speech communication teachers have the responsibility of organizing and implementing oral communication…

Despite the fact that teacher evaluation has long been a factor in the areas of promotion and salary increase, the proposed statewide implementation of a teacher assessment plan (the Mississippi Teacher Assessment Instrument) has aroused anxiety in Mississippi's educational environment. It is therefore critical that principals actively promote a…

This study looked at how Total Quality Management (TQM) is being adopted in institutions of higher education. A questionnaire was developed seeking information on: (1) leadership of the TQM movement and timing of events; (2) the training, educating, and informing of employees; (3) specific areas using TQM and the specific statistical tools being…

Since 1976, the Atlantic Institute of Education in Nova Scotia has conducted a series of workshops to help school administrators and school board members to develop their practical leadership skills. The services provided by the workshop program include needs assessment, inservice workshops, information services, dissemination of materials, and…

PRISM, the Pittsburgh Research-Based Instructional Supervisory Model, was initiated when the superintendent convened an Instructional Leadership Committee (ILC) to develop a plan for improving instruction and instructional leadership within the district. The Pittsburgh Public Schools' Learning Research Development Center then conducted a…