Studies one school's experience as a learning community. Discusses seven themes found to be associated with the school's learning-community experience: Leadership, responsible decision-making, systematic staff development, site-based management, collaboration, and common focus. Draws implications for research and practice. (Contains 20…

Suggests that an institution's use of a critical mass of full-time, tenured and tenured-track faculty members provides a measure for judging the quality of undergraduate education. Presents a table that gives the average percentages of undergraduate course sections taught by full- and part-time instructors in different types of English and foreign…

The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing was developed collaboratively by the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and the Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Nursing. The institute prepares nurses for practice, keeps practitioners current, and provides nursing staff development programs. (Contains 11 references.) (JOW)

Identifies the top 100 U.S. companies in terms of the amount spent on training and development, the number of hours of training per employee, percentage of payroll spent on training, and tuition allotment per employee. Describes best practices in succession planning and leadership development, mentoring, and job shadowing and provides a detailed…

Proposes that a local homework club can provide the type of setting that supports a school's instructional priorities. Notes that homework clubs are also important because they foster individualization of instruction. Discusses key elements of effective homework clubs. Suggests that club activities can be enhanced through effective staff…

British policies urge universities to develop entrepreneurs because of small businesses' role in the economy. To meet their developmental needs, appropriate subject matter and learning methods must be identified. A university consortium has developed a Master of Enterprise program benchmarked to business and management subjects identified by the…

Thirty-four staff providing services to people with intellectual disabilities completed the Challenging Behaviour Attribution Scale with respect to a specific client before, during, and after completing a course in assessment and intervention for challenging behavior. Significantly more staff attributed challenging behavior to negative…

Identifies areas of knowledge principals need to guide staff development, focusing on qualities of principal-staff developers, and the principalship (programs to help train staff developers, and delegation of staff development roles). Recommendations include establishing district staff development programs and intervention for principals having…

This article describes the origins of and the planning involved in a successful school-based staff development program called "Teacher Sharing." The program is simple, informal, and based entirely on teacher input. (IAH)

The Small Group Learning Methodology Project in Australia demonstrated the powerful effect of group membership upon adult literacy. Group learning was facilitated by shared purpose, satisfaction of needs through interdependence, individual growth through group goals, and use of both whole group and one-to-one interaction. (SK)

Ethics initiatives should provide employees with the tools they need to identify, clarify, and resolve ethical issues. Training efforts should focus on defining desired outcomes and considering the company's values and guidelines in working toward solutions to ethical problems. (SK)

Lists guidelines for education, experience, level of knowledge/skill, and general reference ability to be considered in selecting public library online searching staff. Content of staff development programs is outlined in three areas: (1) general orientation; (2) training in the fundamentals of online searching; and (3) online searcher development…

Describes one midwestern city's plan to encourage teachers with leadership potential to consider an administration career. Interested teachers participate in an Initial Skills Audit, a 2-day assessment center designed to provide individual feedback on each person's skill level. A self-assessment instrument provides performance rating estimates on…

Networks, consortia, and coalitions among school districts are cost-effective means to provide staff development, improve instruction, and develop curriculum. This article summarizes results of two studies in Oregon that focused on cross-organizational collaboration for school improvement. Guidelines are provided for organizations and individuals…

Discussions of ways that teachers should change emphasize the need for a better curriculum, instructional method, or organization for learning that will improve student outcomes. However, models of teacher change recognize that teachers must "buy into" the change or school improvement process. (MW)