This descriptive study investigated the challenges related to implementing gifted education services in preschool centers. Participants completed a researcher-created survey to examine the perceived challenges of providing preschool gifted education services. Ninety-five percent of the centers had no formal policies or practices, and eighty-six…

A "conference" is a familiar mode of work for academics. Conferences provide opportunities to bring professionals working in a field together to share and build knowledge. As common as conferences are, however, they are quite challenging to design in ways that truly succeed in galvanizing the attention of an academic community on a…

There is an increasing literature pertaining to student achievement and school productivity. This session will present school and classroom strategies used in high school science classes at Robert E. Lee High School (5A) in Tyler, Texas. This year, 84% of the students at Lee passed the science TAKS test. Lee is also ranked in the top 1500 high…

This paper reviews ways in which the University of Indianapolis (Indiana) utilized its professional development school (PDS) program as a vehicle for promoting inclusion of democratic ideals in the teacher education program. Three issues related to implementation of the PDS partnership are discussed: balance and shift of roles, direction and pace…

One method of training principals and teachers to lead substantive change initiatives lies in partnership activities between schools and the local university. The Collaborative School Improvement Program (C-SIP) is a successful school-university partnership that focuses upon collaborative relationships between Eastern Michigan University and area…

A review of the antecedents of the recent interest in social network analysis makes a case for using network information in mapping professional groups as part of the program planning process. Three major streams of theory and research have converged into a broad multidisciplinary approach to viewing social structure that is termed "network…

This paper proposes an alternative means by which to produce improvement in the quality of professional convention programs. This method is one in which concern for professional relatedness supersedes a concern for individual competition. Dialogue as the first essential element in relatedness would encourage varied perspectives on research…

High turnover rates among school board members, increasing complexity of school affairs, high costs of education, and demographic upheavals are among the factors that make efficient school board management very difficult. To cope with these factors, school board members need inservice training, particularly at the local level. Further, this…

Informal mentoring has always served as a means of fostering development and growth of the younger members of our society. Mentoring programs take on many forms. Some target youth development, while others foster development within professions, such as the mentoring of new teachers. Prior research on influential factors in mentoring outcomes…

Findings of a study that explored the role of staff developers in integrating staff development with organizational development are presented in this paper. Staff development (SD) is defined as professional development for individuals to improve student instruction; organizational development (OD) is defined as professional development for groups…

Materials developed by the Alabama community, junior, and technical colleges as part of a state-funded professional development effort are presented. The first sections provide information on Alabama's systemwide professional development activities; the organization and characteristics of the community, junior, and technical college system;…

The president's address, delivered at the 1989 annual meeting of the National Academic Advising Association, outlines four steps to prepare the academic advisor for harmonious entry into the 1990s, including use of computer technology, developmental principles, program planning and evaluation, and professional development opportunities. (MSE)

Outlined are curriculum issues concerning the development of a master's degree program in Environmental Education at Griffith University during 1990. This paper examines how fundamental considerations, purposes, objectives, course organization schema, and proposed teaching methods have evolved to meet the challenges of professional development…

The New York Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (NYCETP) project has three main goals: (1) fostering the development of collaboration within and between the five campuses of the City University of New York and New York University; (2) faculty development; and (3) the design and development of curriculum. The use of NYCETP faculty…

This paper describes the development of a state initiative to improve the quality of induction programs for new teachers in Maryland. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) based its decisions about appropriate teacher induction programs on a variety of information sources from research and practice. The important steps in the creation…