Recounts difficulties experienced by an Ohio principal who chaired his district's contentious boundary-realignment process. The community was divided over dispersal of heavily concentrated low-income students to other schools within the district. In hindsight, this principal would have had someone take minutes, selected a more diverse committee,…

Describes the turbulent conditions that typify experiences as a science supervisor in the central office of a large urban school district implementing science systemic reform. Notes that typical policies and procedures allow stakeholders to undervalue the decisions they make, which creates currents of frustration and distrust capable of…

Discusses the need for professionals in the field of behavioral disorders to take a leadership role in addressing larger issues and problems of great concern to our society, including ensuring school safety, identifying children vulnerable to gang membership, dropout prevention, and youth violence. (CR)

Summarizes a study that interviewed 14 female upper-level African American community college administrators to identify commonalities in their experience. Most participants showed early signs of leadership, had strong spiritual beliefs, were caring and self-reliant, had close relationships with their mothers, valued their aloneness and their…

Interviews with 10 itinerant teachers of students with hearing impairments found participants preferred working directly with students rather than consulting with general education teachers and families. Primary advantages to itinerant teaching included variety, autonomy, time for reflection, and student diversity. Professional isolation was…

A long-standing problem for rural school districts is recruiting and retaining quality teachers for their classrooms. The lack of resources, low salary and incentives, and personal and professional isolation are some reasons why fewer good teachers choose to work in rural schools. In order to address the challenges facing rural schools, states and…

The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of international graduates to find out how they perceived their new learning environment in Singapore, and to explore the strategies they employed to adjust to, manage and construct meaning out of their learning situation. A qualitative, critical incidents methodology was used in the…

A teacher study group was formed at Garfield Elementary School (Billings, Montana) to provide opportunities for professional development. Garfield Elementary has a student population of over 400 students, approximately 50 of whom qualify for special education services. The majority of children come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and…

Coteaching and cogenerative dialoguing are ways of learning to teach that truly bridge the gap between theory and praxis, as new teachers learn to teach alongside peers and more experienced teachers. These practices are also means of overcoming teacher isolation and burnout. Through cogenerative dialogue sessions, new and experienced teachers,…

Examines effects of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act from a caring, innovative elementary teacher's viewpoint. A court required KERA, the legislature created it, state officials regulate it, but teachers are directly responsible for working together to make reforms work. Unfortunately, the state has not provided enough direction to…

In fall 1989, San Jose State University's educational administration program introduced a two-semester peer-coaching class as part of its Professional Administrative Services Credential requirement. All student-practitioners receive seven hours of instruction, modeling, and practice in peer coaching. Peer coaching reduced professional isolation,…

Responses were collected from 117 secondary school teachers in Singapore to determine what teachers perceive to be the disadvantages, major facilitators, and inhibitors of computer-assisted instruction. Immediate feedback to students and provision of alternative teaching techniques were found to be the major advantages; isolation and costs were…

Discusses the findings of a recently completed British Library project which sought to enable information professionals to develop and enhance their careers by identifying a framework of transferable skills. Highlights include professional isolation; the Library Association Framework for Continuing Professional Development; mentors and learning…

A case study explored availability of collaboration benefits and the difficulties teachers experienced in attaining them in a traditional comprehensive high school that hosts a career academy and a school-within-a-school. Administrators should encourage teachers' voluntary participation, allow adequate planning time, provide training, and increase…

Mentoring programs that pair experienced and first-time teachers are gaining prominence in supporting, developing, and retaining new teachers. The successful Beginning Teacher Assistance program at University of Wisconsin-River Falls was designed to give new K-12 teachers the opportunity for yearlong, structured support from mentor teachers. (MLH)