The wide range of experience, education, and competence can make it challenging for administrators to plan and implement ongoing professional development that meets the needs of each teacher, particularly in centers serving preschoolers from families with low incomes. Administrators must meet multiple, and seemingly ever-changing, state and agency…

This dissertation study focused on three aspects of staff development in North Texas: (1) funding sources, (2) types of professional learning programs, and (3) teachers' views of the effectiveness of the funded programs. Qualitative data came from interviews with nine district administrators concerning funding sources and how those resources…

Practical strategies for school administrators will help ensure that coaches are able to work most effectively.

Recognizing that student achievement is intrinsically linked to high-quality teaching, Jodi Peine offers an invaluable guide that helps educational leaders strengthen teachers' instructional practice with an individualized and robust professional development process. The author provides administrators and staff developers with step-by-step…

PEPNet's "Perspectives" is the collaborative newsletter of the four PEPNet regional centers. This newsletter combines each centers individual strengths into a single resource that can be used on a national level. The articles in this issue are: (1) A letter from Louise Tripoli, Project Officer, U.S. Department of Education, Office of…

Presents an inventive approach to professional development in early childhood education and care settings. Focuses on how early childhood programs shape the stories of individual children, the importance of planning physical environments to shape stories and remembering the power of the social-emotional environment, and the need to include…

Identifies areas of knowledge principals need to guide staff development, focusing on qualities of principal-staff developers, and the principalship (programs to help train staff developers, and delegation of staff development roles). Recommendations include establishing district staff development programs and intervention for principals having…

Based on the belief that teaching involves a lifelong cyclical process of study, practice, and reflection, this handbook details the staff development opportunities for prekindergarten personnel in Dade County, Florida for 1997-98. Procedures, workshops, explanatory descriptions, and scheduling information for staff development are presented in…

The use of an assessment center in identifying specific staff development needs of aspiring and practicing school principals was studied. The relationship between assessment center performance and subsequent staff development activities was studied by participant level (elementary, middle and junior high, and high school) and by participant…

Adult learning theory and research on professional development provide a rich background context for examining school leader development for school improvement. The literature on adult learning theory identifies the following generalities about adults as learners: age reduces the speed of learning; adult learners bring life experiences to bear on…

The Louisiana Educational Employees Professional Improvement Program (PIPS) is an individualized, incentive-based, statewide, inservice development program for school administrators and teachers. This presentation describes PIPS and analyzes it according to recommended models for the development and implementation of inservice programs for school…

Approaches to the economics of training and personnel development are reviewed, and results from an empirical survey of 450 Swedish training managers are summarized with regard to competence as a production factor. Preconditions for an economics of competence include a long-range perspective and combining qualitative and quantitative variables.…

The study described in this issue of "Look at Even Start" evaluated the Staff Mentoring Sites program, a mentoring program provided as technical assistance in Even Start family literacy programs. Staff from five Even Start programs with successful family recruitment and retention records were selected as mentors. Requests for nominations…

This document consists of four quarterly issues of a newsletter for Illinois early childhood directors, providing information on current issues in early childhood education. Regular features in each issue include "The Director's Toolbox," delineating practical suggestions for directors related to program policies and staff issues;…

The demand, supply, sponsorship, and need for staff development and training activities for middle-level collegiate administrators is examined and discussed. Data were gathered by a survey research questionnaire and structured interviews with 200 administrators and faculty at 20 colleges and universities, and an extensive review of the literature.…