This paper presents a large-scale, comprehensive test of generalized trust across 31 nations. I pay particular attention to the theory and measurement of voluntary associations in promoting trust, hypothesizing that voluntary associations connected to other voluntary associations are more beneficial for the creation of generalized trust than…

Like teachers, principals need support for building collegial networks and reducing professional isolation. Study groups provide an opportunity for principals to meet during the school year to study a topic of mutual interest. The experience can increase participants' confidence, teach new skills, strengthen their understanding of current…

Counselors sometimes struggle with professional challenges, a situation that can be more difficult with a lack of support among colleagues. Finding an alternative community of support can make a crucial difference for well being. Recommendations are drawn from kinship networks of the Maoris of New Zealand to demonstrate how they can serve as a…

Analyzes literacy education's discourse conventions on diversity. Calls for advancing a critical democracy within the context of higher education which would disentangle the rhetoric on diversity from a colonizing agenda. (NH)

One of the ironies of teaching is that it is one of the most social occupations, but it is also one of the most isolating professions. Most schools are organized in an eggcrate manner, making professional collaborations difficult. In what other business would a professional not have easy access to a telephone? What other professional lives are…

Our least-served students are taught by our least-experienced teachers. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, teachers in high-poverty public schools are twice as likely to transfer to another school as their colleagues in low-poverty public schools. Consequently, many students in high-poverty, urban public schools spend…

Australian historiography has often portrayed Australian education as dependent and isolated. Starting from Foucault's notion of power as capillary, this paper traces two ways in which Australian teacher training in the first half of the twentieth century was tied into international networks. It documents some conspicuous links between key…

Context: Mid-level providers comprise an increasing proportion of the health care workforce and play a key role in providing health services in rural and underserved areas. Although women comprise the majority of mid-level providers, they are less likely to work in a rural area than men. Maldistribution of health providers between urban and rural…

Describes the context, format, and goals of the Professional Carers' Group, a professional network designed to support a centralized treatment project for young people who have sexually abused others. Ways that group-based work with potentially isolated local professionals may help a treatment program maintain a systemic perspective is discussed.…

Examined the experiences of elementary school computer coordinators. Considers the microprocesses of interaction among computer coordinators and classroom teachers, and how these patterns are related to the integration of computers in elementary schools. Found that computer specialists are limited in their endeavors because of various structural…

Interviews with 44 teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing in resource room programs concerning their physical, social, and administrative isolation revealed five types of teaching experiences varying in the types of isolation experienced and teacher reactions to this isolation. (DB)

Describes a classroom-based teacher education program that helps men and women move from other occupations through a period of "risky imbalance" to meaningful new role of rural school teacher. A survivor of the 1960s, the Upper Valley Teacher Training Program is a state-approved, nonprofit, independent program using services of academics…

This study addressed the perceptions of isolation among high school principals in Georgia. The data collection process, in which interviews were conducted, provided insight into the lived experiences of 10 principals. One of the findings was that high school principals were relieved, in a sense, to discuss their perceptions of the…

Investigates the relationship between school principals' professional isolation and their performance at work. Suburban Quebec principals were administered French versions of the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Self-Appraisal Instrument for Community College Administrators. Principals' professional isolation was negatively and significantly…

Discusses problems such as redundancy caused by isolation of community colleges. Suggested means for overcoming institutional isolation and improving communication among community colleges include hosting conferences, accessing the Internet, instituting faculty exchange programs, offering faculty membership in professional societies, allowing…