This document describes a program for custodial parents which was designed to facilitate children's adjustment after parental divorce. Four steps in the development of the program are described: (1) examining existing literature for theoretical frameworks and empirical studies on the development of adjustment problems in children of divorce; (2)…

The Administrator Development Academy (ADA) is a six-week, intensive, collaborative-learning experience that explores the theory-practice link and effective leadership qualities. Begun in 1985, the academy is part of the educational administration program at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio). The program stresses communication, collegiality,…

Program design can aid problem-solving or decision-making tasks faced by evaluators. It can be used to facilitate evaluation planning through the definition of program boundaries and the generation and focusing of evaluation questions. Further, it can provide evaluation information about theoretical, historical, and political contexts of a…

This paper suggests that the idea of "taking stock" of the current program--reflecting on what educators believe to be best practice--and then "charting a course" of action to better align practice with vision is a deliberate way for teachers to build capacity to enact reform. It begins by providing a brief overview of the changing direction of…

This paper describes the evolution of a graduate program in education called "Cognitive Development and Teaching Strategy." The thesis of the course is that developmental theory offers insights which can help teachers create a "thinking environment" in their classrooms. Each successive version of the course exemplified a different view of the…

This paper describes the design and outcomes of the University of Houston School-University Research Collaborative, a partnership that uses collaborative research and evaluation as a vehicle for educational improvement. Two of the collaborative's three research agendas are described in detail: (1) the collaborative-level research project,…

Educational literature is replete with calls for changes in preparation programs for school administrators. This paper contrasts traditional administrator-preparation programs with one designed around the Quality Schools paradigm. The program emphasizes administrator candidate selection, human needs, the empowerment of others, effective…

This paper reviews staff development research related to rural schools. Only a limited number of studies have described, or evaluated the effects of, particular staff development programs in rural schools, or have assessed the perceived needs of rural faculty and administrators for inservice training. However, rural educators can draw implications…

Two major recommendations are offered to teacher education reform efforts: (1) increased collaboration for both leadership and program planning in teacher education; and (2) changes in the roles of public schools and universities in the preparation of teachers. The recommendations emerged intially from a study that focused on discrepancies between…

A concern among those scrutinizing postsecondary programs in educational administration is the relationship among the academic and theoretical components of the programs, field-based experiences, and future on-the-job success. This paper examines the efforts of an educational administration department at Valdosta State College, Valdosta, Georgia,…

The School Leadership Study was designed to contribute important data on how high quality pre- and in-service programs are structured, how they implement the effective strategies noted in the research literature, and the impact of program graduates in the schools they lead. The study examines whether program components triangulate with graduate…

The socioeconomic contributions of adult learning to community were examined from a social capital perspective. The concepts of human capital and social capital were differentiated, and the relationship between learning, human capital, and social capital was explored. The relevance of social capital in describing the wider benefits of adult…