Three articles discuss professional staff development in higher education and suggest future possibilities. A proposed staff appraisal system that includes opportunities for student evaluation is outlined; questions relating to the concept and rationale of teacher appraisal in higher education are examined; and two case studies using innovation…

Modeled on the county medical society and bar association, the University of Pennsylvania's Academic Alliances Program brings together teachers from all levels of the educational system. Faculty members from the schools and colleges in a local area, who teach the same academic discipline, are drawn together. (Author/MLW)

Outlines the foundations of the qualitative and quantitative approaches to research and discusses the implications of these two completely different approaches in educational research. Points out they are not complementary as they are separate scientific paradigms.(MD)

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of a federally funded project that was designed to develop, validate, and disseminate a training program for teachers of students with autism. The strategies taught to teachers were those that have been accepted as best practice in autism literature. Since 1996 more than 500 teachers,…

This final report describes the activities and accomplishments of a federally funded project designed to develop a community-wide interagency service delivery model for facilitating the successful transition of handicapped children from preschool programs to the least restrictive environment in the public schools. The model addresses four major…

A panel of state staff, Professional Development Center directors, and other experts reviewed current or previous exemplary projects in Pennsylvania and in the U.S. and published project descriptions in a newsletter ("FOCUS" bulletin). Twenty-two special projects were selected as exemplary based on a five-point scale for innovation,…

Distance learning is rapidly gaining acceptance as a valid means of course delivery in educational institutions across the country, and these institutions are struggling to enhance the quality of teaching,learning and scholarship over the Internet, while trying to effectively integrate this type of instruction into the curriculum. Increasingly,…

In the United States, three levels of government (federal, state, and local) influence the nature, structure, and delivery of career guidance and counseling. Career guidance and programs are available to individuals of all ages and circumstances. Due to the different sets of guidelines at the different levels of government, the diffuse nature of…

Research findings on the early precursors of substance use and related adjustment difficulties have led to interest in developmental models to explain problem behavior. This paper examines five major themes that characterize the relationship among social context, individual disposition, and syndromes of problem behaviors that include substance use…

A system for faculty evaluation is presented that suggests a performance middle ground appropriate to the realities of teaching while promoting the values associated with performance-based evaluation: measurability, objectivity, integration of performance with recognition and compensation, flexibility in application, discrimination among…

Suggests several areas in Australian adult education and training where a competency-based educational model would have application. Areas include the professional development of staff in educational institutions and industrial training establishments, training of educational administrators, vocational training of college students, and the…

Discusses ways of providing training for educators in the operation and instructional applications of microcomputers on a large scale basis, and draws on the experiences of the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) for examples of successful networking activities. (Author/MER)

Describes a Life Development Center, a structured residential environment in which students and professionals work together to achieve personal growth and development. The Center provides for the integration of academic and residence environments in which students' understandings of themselves and others may be expanded. (JAC)

The Filter, Human-Capital, and Maturation hypotheses are discussed as the starting point for an analysis of the roles of a university. A student viewpoint is derived from the analysis of questionnaire responses of a first-year New Zealand university class (approximately 2,300 students). (Author/MLW)

Virginia has developed a state training program for student financial aid administrators. It is coordinated with two previously separate programs, is cost efficient, and has resolved the issues of who should train, what materials should be included, when training should be conducted, and where training should occur. (JMD)