While there are lots of books with information on why and how to differentiate instruction, here at last is a book that gets to the heart of why some efforts to differentiate flop while others lead to sweeping, positive results. When it's your job to support differentiated instruction in a single school or systemwide, you need the guidance from…

Reviews research on principals' behavior and research differentiating between more and less effective principals. Traces potential policy implications in the areas of program implementation, principal selection, preservice and inservice training, and district level organization and management. (RH)

A carefully developed, comprehensive professional development plan takes time, energy, and coordination of resources, but when it's done well, it can seem as effortless as a perfectly pitched curve ball. Seven steps, each with a set of guiding questions, can help planners meet the goal and create a program that produces results. [Appended to this…

This study examined high-performing after-school projects funded by The After-School Corporation (TASC), to determine what characteristics, if any, these projects shared. Evaluators reanalyzed student performance data collected during the multi-year evaluation of the TASC initiative to identify projects where the after-school program was…

Discusses major obstacles to excellence in community colleges: failure to develop adequate means for systematic, periodic, performance appraisal; failure to evaluate individual courses and programs periodically and systematically; failure to commit adequate time and resources to continued personnel development; lack of an adequate decision-making…

Issues in preservice preparation of Canadian school administrators, with a focus on the effectiveness of a principal certification course implemented by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), are described. A review of current preservice practices in Canada concludes that traditional programs are issues oriented and lack conceptual…

PRISM, the Pittsburgh Research-Based Instructional Supervisory Model, was initiated when the superintendent convened an Instructional Leadership Committee (ILC) to develop a plan for improving instruction and instructional leadership within the district. The Pittsburgh Public Schools' Learning Research Development Center then conducted a…

Briefly reviews findings from the school effectiveness literature and suggests local strategies and policies that will stimulate school reform. Thirteen characteristics of effective schools are discussed as model guidelines for action; four general policy recommendations are made. (RH)

The purpose of this book is to examine the development, process, and concepts of staff development in nursing education and its relationship to the overall continuing education effort. It is intended for staff development educators in agency development or revision, for administrators of nursing services in planning staff development, and for…

Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality (ASQ) is a five-step process which guides program staff as they evaluate the quality of their program so they can develop priorities and improve achievement of goals. The five steps in the ASQ process are: (1) preparing for program improvement; (2) gathering information; (3) building the Action Plan; (4)…

The second of two volumes intended for directors of early childhood organizations, this volume compiles selected articles for center directors from the first 20 years of the journal "Child Care Information Exchange." The articles cover personnel management, program development, and community relations. The articles are grouped into…

This report summarizes the proceedings of an Ohio Department of Education conference convened to describe, define, and develop activities that would provide a working model of the school principal as the instructional leader. First, the results of a pre-conference principals' needs assessment, which formed the basis for conference planning and…

The purpose of this paper is to identify those programs and processes currently using the components, factors, and behaviors that have been described in the literature as characteristic of more effective schools, and to synthesize findings from these programs and processes carrying out effective schooling practices. Following an introduction,…

This booklet is intended to assist midlevel health care managers in assessing and improving their health care management skills. The first chapter uses the story of one health care manager's recognition of his own weaknesses and subsequent self-improvement to illustrate the qualities and skills that make a good manager. The second chapter, which…

Twenty abstracts represent papers on: an agenda for camping research, use of alternative learning environments in an outdoor setting for emotionally disturbed children and youth, effects of specialized camping program on coronary heart disease risk factors in children, efficacy of physical activity programs for overweight pre-adults at specialized…