The political and social rationale for the establishment of a national system of education in nineteenth-century Ireland has been the focus of considerable attention by scholars. Less attention has, however, been paid to teacher quality and school effectiveness within that system. Various efforts were made over the course of the century to address…

One of the priorities of the 70's will be the preeminence of professional development for teachers already in the field. Both fiscal realities and personnel practices demand that the focus of teacher training be on inservice education. This paper considers the vital question of governance of the inservice enterprise, looking at position papers…

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) provides information and assistance to groups wishing to form teacher centers or already involved actively with a teacher center. NYSUT activities reported in this publication include the following: (1) publications; (2) workshops on proposal writing; (3) local and regional workshops; (4) locating resources…

Using contracted services to support costs of preparing vocational personnel has become fashionable in spite of its many flaws; however, a viable alternative is to apply the principle of excess costs to the support of vocational personnel development programs. This system puts the emphasis on quality and improvement. (CT)

This document presents a framework for planning a statewide program for staff development of education personnel. It is primarily intended for use by state department of education personnel. There are three sections. The first gives a perspective on statewide staff development, problems involved in planning, and the issues to be considered, such…

This article describes the development and implementation of a district-wide plan by the Columbus (OH) Public Schools to integrate computers into school programs. Included is a discussion of Summer Tech, a community education program to provide high-quality, low-cost computer education to the entire community. (IAH)

This paper describes the development of the Meridian (Idaho) Instructional Model which was implemented by a large school district operating with limited funds. Prior to 1981, staff development activities in the district were undertaken on a need basis without any comprehensive plan or approach to the improvement of instruction. Changes in this…

Four conceptual competencies were devised and deemed necessary for effective teaching. Then, a number of conclusions were drawn: a) with new competencies being stated, new forms of training must be established; b) training which occurs at the undergraduate level can be made more effective only if the statement of competencies is more realistic; c)…

This guide contains materials which are designed to assist rural school systems in assessing educational needs, in systematically planning strategies to develop an inservice teacher education program, and in applying for Title III funds. Included are instructions for a survey and an inventory of needs, suggestions for the allocation of resource…

In 2000, the Finance Project received a planning grant to launch a new initiative on financing professional development in education. This report represents efforts to identify and develop a database on promising new approaches to professional development in education, profiling 16 initiatives recommended by knowledge experts and representing a…

This paper discusses the problems encountered by the physical education department of a school of education as the educators prepare to upgrade the curriculum to meet the demands of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142). An example of competencies necessary to implement the requirements of the Act is presented. The means by…

Not nearly enough money is going into the identification and development of gifted and talented children. Policy is more concerned with eliminating inequity than developing talent. A strong belief in equal treatment and opportunity has been translated into special education efforts for children in crisis, but not for children with special gifts.…

This executive summary of a report on the Ways to Improve Schools and Education (WISE) Project study of local school-business collaboration focuses upon the private sector voluntary efforts to help schools become more effective through staff development/inservice education. Topics covered in the report include: (1) rationale for the project; (2)…

Case studies were made of the cost and efficient utilization of resources for inservice education and training of teachers (INSET) in England, Australia, the United States, Denmark, Sweden, and France. The studies were prepared on the basis of four main topics: (1) analysis of costs; (2) efficient or full utilization of resources; (3) financing;…