This book presents the largest and most comprehensive look at the men and women leading the nation's public schools. This profile of the school superintendency offers a close examination of: (1) superintendents' personal characteristics, professional experience, and professional preparation and training; (2) superintendent/school board relations;…

Using the case of the Flemish policy on educational quality and based on a series of case studies, the author argues that the impact of central policy measures on educational practices in schools is never simply straightforward. Policy measures are always interpreted by and translated to the particular context of a school. In these processes of…

Workplace needs are often difficult for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers to assess due to a variety of obstacles that can restrict opportunities to analyze the existing needs. Nevertheless, the workers' needs may be recognized by employing techniques aimed at extracting information from the workers themselves. Japanese university…

The aim of this paper is to present and interpret the findings of a recent questionnaire-based survey amongst staff working in higher education, which was concerned to explore the impact of cultural and religious diversity upon their working practices. We were also interested to find out in which areas staff felt that they required support. Many…

In reference to Peter Kuchinke's manuscript, the author points out that current MBA programs suffer from a myriad of ills that are somehow detrimental to organizations and that there is a similar problem with human resource development (HRD) programs (hence the reference in the title to "birds of a feather"). In this article, he shares his…

Peter Kuchinke has written a powerful and relevant article that should generate much discussion in the human resource development (HRD) community. The focus of Kuchinke's paper is the question of whether HRD academic programs should emulate the value preference of business schools or march to a different drum. In this response, the author argues…

The quality of life experienced by social and healthcare professionals is among the factors that contribute to the definition of quality of service. Other factors seemingly in relation with experienced quality of life concern one's own efficacy, beliefs, and burnout. The present study intended to verify the relations that existed between these…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe the organization of workplace learning in Finnish polytechnics, the models that have been developed for this purpose, and the challenges presented. Design/methodology/approach: First, the models for embedding workplace learning in the curriculum are described and analysed. Second, the conflicting…

Driven by a competitive environment with other employers to maintain a quality workforce, businesses are increasingly becoming aware of the necessity to assist employees with programs and services regarding family needs. Unfortunately, most small to medium size companies are either ignorant of the necessity for family friendly services or lack the…

This report by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) summarizes research findings on what has and what has not been successful in schools and workplaces. Studies concerning successful organizations (elementary and secondary schools and firms in a wide range of businesses) and successful practices were reviewed. Most of the reviewed…

This paper offers a traditional but often neglected view of schools as places of work. It argues that schools are best understood as places where people work and face problems similar to those encountered in other work organizations. Good schools are places where the quality and quantity of work are greater and the work is integrated more…

This paper describes the dilemmas of leadership experienced by principals and superintendents in Norway. The term "dilemma" refers to contradictory orientations that these educational leaders experienced in their job activities. Dilemmas are categorized in terms of legality, which pertains to the formal steering of the schools, or in…

This paper assesses public and private, four-year college or university faculty satisfaction in the context of the complexity of satisfaction and the importance of the interaction between faculty professional values or expectations and institutional values. Satisfaction is defined as the extent to which faculty perceive that the institution…

Time management is critical for effective leadership and productivity among community college chairs and deans. An organization that is more time conscious tends to be more productive and less stressful. Similarly, an organization's time management culture can provide ideas for improving productivity and the work environment. One model of time…

This survey was undertaken to build upon and validate understanding of teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction, orientation to teaching, teachers' values, and teacher health. The purpose of this endeavor was also to develop an instrument suitable for identifying and quantifying the sources and relative strength of factors contributing to teacher…