The concepts of professional learning communities and organizational disciplines support staff development and leadership that lead to sustainable systems. Little research has examined the ability of rural schools to achieve sustainable systems. This quantitative design study considered the relationships between predictor variables of…

Administrators who have been successful in recruiting minority faculty members suggest that institutions develop innovative, goal-oriented affirmative action plans, challenge entrenched campus attitudes, find new ways of seeking out qualified applicants, and prevent unwritten campus rules from hindering the process. (MSE)

A review of literature on service learning in higher education suggests ways in which colleges and universities can support faculty's involvement in this approach to education. Issues discussed include recruitment of faculty to teach service courses, barriers and inhibitors to teacher motivation, faculty development strategies, and changes in…

Using as a case study an attempted change in student evaluation and reporting procedures in a junior high school, this paper proposes an analytic framework that identifies specific organizational features which impede the innovation process. (SJL)

A model is presented which helps principals plan and evaluate instructional improvement. Described in relation to educational reform in Tennessee, the model assigns to principals the responsibility to implement the instructional changes required by a career ladder program. Research shows that continuing education, communication, and climate (the…

A faculty development program designed to examine and reduce stress is outlined. The program resulted in several changes, including: annual personal development consultations between all staff and department heads, professional development for department heads in mediating change, counseling support groups, and improved organizational…

Touch-tone telephone/voice response registration is an exciting and effective use of advanced technology in college management, but the transition to the system must be well planned, the needs of all users considered, good compromises sought, and faculty and students convinced it will work. Then it must be successful. (Author/MSE)

A rating scale operationalized a model for the adoption and implementation of educational innovation. Phases were designated: creating a climate for change; analyzing antecedent conditions; generating alternatives; initiating change adoption; implementing change; and evaluating change outcomes. Principals' decision-making behavior was the best…

The Greater Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Literacy Council (GPLC) is a volunteer-based literacy council that provides adult basic and literacy education services to the area's citizens. The GPLC conducted an action research project to determine whether adding monthly meetings for professional teaching staff and providing opportunities for interaction…

This document contains four papers presented at a symposium on practitioner states moderated by Kay Bull at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "The Effect of Locus of Control and Performance-Contingent Incentives on Productivity and Job Satisfaction in Self-Managing Teams" (Bonnie E. Garson, Douglas…

Included in this summary analysis of three journal articles and two documents on teacher evaluation are reports that touch on difficulties facing school officials in developing a teacher evaluation system and suggestions for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of an evaluation system. The first article, by Susan S. Stodolsky, challenges…