A number of factors drive the current trend toward career development in the workplace. They include the need to predict personnel needs, social and demographic trends, changing nature of work, changing types of jobs, equity, productivity, technological change, and organizational philosophies. Career development is important at every step in the…

School climate is defined, four instruments used to assess various dimensions of school climate are described, and implications of a school climate profile for developing an individualized staff development program in a rural school setting are discussed. Developed from the professional literature, the definition of school climate includes the…

For this overview of the extent and feasibility of practitioner involvement in professional improvement, practitioners are defined as school-based professionals--teachers, aides, resource specialists, and administrators. Current thought on the need for these individuals to play major roles as decision makers in developing inservice programs is…