A distance education program in mental health was delivered to 31 rural health professionals in Western Australia who dealt with mentally ill patients at the primary level. Evaluation on completion and 4 months postprogram indicated that participants learned mental health management regimes, developed mental health assessment skills, improved…

A graduate program component that assigned mentors to preservice special education teachers of students with severe disabilities is described. Characteristics of effective mentoring programs, the mentoring needs of preservice teachers of students with severe disabilities, and the mentorship program components are discussed. An evaluation of the…

Discusses careful planning, enlightened leadership, informed and enthusiastic teachers, and continuous evaluation as prerequisites for successful interdisciplinary teamwork. Suggests that interdisciplinary teaming allows better use of faculty members' skills, and provides better strategies for dealing with diversified populations, better…

The North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal System (TPAS) and a pilot career development program were studied via a survey of 1,998 teachers and 338 evaluators. Overall reaction to the TPAS and its evaluation instrument was positive, with teachers agreeing that the procedures for formative and summative evaluations are feasible. (SLD)

Summarizes adult and teacher education research and provides suggestions to design personalized programs for elementary science staff development. Discusses principles of adult education; research on inservice training components; the Concern-Based Adoption Model and teacher change; practical implications for K-6 science teacher workshops; methods…

A longitudinal quasi experiment tested the effects of a relapse prevention and transfer enhancement posttraining intervention on the self-efficacy, transfer behavior, and performance of a sample of nurses who attended a two-day training program on the McGill Model of Nursing. ANCOVA results failed to support the effectiveness of the intervention;…

In the past few years many states in the U.S. have moved toward full implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. In doing so, schools have adopted "research-based" early reading models to implement Reading First, a salient component of NCLB. Through structured observations and interviews, the study team examined the…

In this study, the researchers examined the effectiveness of a reflective model of peer mentoring in the professional growth of early-career science teachers. The study was carried out over one academic year with three beginning secondary science teachers. The public school teachers in this study reported that participation in peer mentoring…

One of the greatest challenges we face as an early childhood professional community is providing short-term, affordable professional development that results in depth of understanding and change of practice. The University of Wyoming Early Childhood Summer Institute is a model for professional development that fosters reflection, inquiry, and…

Since the mid-1990s, government policies in the USA, Canada, England, and Australia have promoted the need to produce an ICT skilled workforce in order to ensure national competitiveness in globalised economic conditions. In this article, we examine the ways in which these policy intentions in 1 state in Australia were translated into a…

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of recent educational reform efforts in Washington State and to determine what educators believe to be the most important future areas of focus. In particular, the researchers wanted to determine whether school-wide improvement efforts (i.e. School Improvement Plans (SIPs), School Improvement…

The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. This brief reports study results in the area of violence prevention, covering the following topics: (1) Health Education; (2) Health Services and…

Contemporary school administrators play a daunting array of roles. They must be educational visionaries and change agents, instructional leaders, curriculum and assessment experts, budget analysts, facility managers, special program administrators, and community builders. New expectations for schools--that they successfully teach a broad range of…

Students for Volunteer Services was a demonstration project implemented by Michigan's Lansing Community College to facilitate student understanding of and participation in community service. Project activities focused on increasing the percentages of students who volunteer (with an emphasis on minority students), improving the abilities of…

This guide describes a teacher mentor program for special education teachers in the Saint Tammany Parish Public School System, Louisiana. The Special Education Mentor Program provides peer support and professional development opportunities for new special education teachers. The program is intended to give immediate as well as long-term support to…