Society still carries the lingering remains of the autocratic cultural mores of reward and punishment. Staff in a group home setting for children must be aware of the complexity caused by the mingling of autocratic and democratic mores. This phenomenon causes discrepancy in parenting methods. It was surmised that training the staff (N=4) at one…

This report describes the strategies of a young accrediting association in identifying, developing, and implementing a training program designed to help chairpersons and team members prepare for, and participate in, a school accreditation visit. The problem arose when the National Accreditation Commission of the Association of Christian Schools…

The role of staff development in establishing charactertistics of an effective school was examined in order to illuminate associations. A framework was used to categorize these characteristics into three critical dimensions. Two consistent patterns emerged that are described and used to present broad guidelines for the conduct of staff…

The purpose of this practicum was to develop and implement a computer training series for early childhood professionals. Over a 10-month period, direct instructional presentations, scheduled lab periods for individual practice, and informal hands-on activities formed the framework for developing foundation skills. The skills involved were those…

The primary goal of this practicum study was to provide opportunities for Head Start teachers to become knowledgeable of community resources that would encourage their aesthetic awareness and enhance their creative growth. A total of 16 teachers and teacher aides visited a local Dali Museum, a fine arts museum, a planetarium, a historical museum,…

A practicum was designed to increase participation of families in home-school literacy activities. The school was located in a suburban village in the northeastern United States. Data indicated that many families of first- and second-grade minority students who were bused to the school for integration purposes were not participating in home-school…

A practicum project was designed to improve communications, exchange of ideas, and interpersonal relationships among 37 teachers and school staff members in a rural elementary school in an economically depressed area. Monthly "spotlight" gatherings were held, featuring ethnic foods, experiential activities, demonstrations, and discussions of…

This practicum paper describes a training intervention project that was designed to improve classified employees' personnel selection and problem-solving skills. The project addressed the following personnel issues: legal issues of employment, critical thinking, job analysis, selection style, interviewing techniques, and employee induction.…

A practicum was designed to increase the writing opportunities of 37 prekindergarten children in three classes through staff development. Formal and informal surveys of prekindergarten teachers confirmed the need for more information on child development, the development of the writing process, and prekindergarten whole language. A series of…

A practicum designed to facilitate the transition of Head Start children to kindergarten was implemented by the education coordinator of a Head Start program. The program served 945 poverty-level children in 35 classrooms and 20 home-based sites in 35 school districts in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Practicum goals were to prepare children for…

This practicum concerned a staff development program designed to promote cultural awareness among the staff members of a high school. The program consisted of three 2-hour sessions of intensive workshops that focused on: (1) the definition of culture; (2) nonverbal communication; and (3) the influence of culture in language development and social…

Results of a staff development program designed to enhance participative decision-making through improving the quality circle process are presented in this practicum report. Methodology was based on two sets of interviews--needs assessment and followup--with school leaders at two school sites and onsite observation. After identifying problems in…

This practicum addressed communication enhancement between classroom and substitute teachers by implementing a substitute teacher management program to improve the quality of information and materials teachers made available to substitutes. A systematic method by which substitutes learned school policies and procedures was also developed and…

This practicum project used organized professional development to increase involvement of teachers at a preK-8 school in the school's reform process. All members of the school community actively participated in planning, data collecting, and sharing of pertinent reform information. The 3-month staff development intervention consisted of three…

This paper reports on a proposed project to be undertaken to improve the morale, image, and service of the Bursar's Office at Nova Southeastern University. The project calls for: (1) a brainstorming meeting of the bursar's office staff; (2) bursar's office staff to offer suggestions to improve services; (3) the encouragement of teamwork and…