The Center for Vocational Professional Personnel Development conducted a needs assessment in order to plan and deliver staff development workshops in the 34 vocational schools served in Pennsylvania's central region. Respondents from the 30 participating schools were 30 administrators and 600 teachers (371 vocational and 144 academic teachers and…

In career guidance, advocacy and self-advocacy encompass a continuum from adviser action separately on behalf of a client, through shared activity, to action by the client alone. Wherever individual clients fall on the continuum, advocacy can be conducted in a manner that empowers them. Modeling is an important aspect of the process of empowerment…

This proceedings presents 40 papers delivered at the 1998 annual meeting of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). Papers in the proceedings are divided into sections on the Ecology of Technology; Environmental Shifts; and Evolving Perspectives. Representative papers in the proceedings include: "Mixing Oil…

This paper provides an extensive literature review on how society, families, and schools are entwined in a student's educational development and how these interactions influence the student's opinion of the value of education. It provides middle-school administrators and teachers a working guide for an educational environment that addresses the…

The implementation of standards-based reform has been a goal of state policy makers for the last 10 years. States have also restructured their governance systems with the intention of distributing more authority to local decision-makers. However, even the high standards of this type of reform, and the strong incentives to encourage the change, are…

This Spanish-language report (with an English summary) describes a course on interagency cooperation held at the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center in Haifa, Israel. The course, with 30 Central and South American participants, discusses the necessity of pooling resources and sharing responsibility among institutions in various…

For several years, concerns have been growing about the mathematics achievement of California's K-12 students. In September 1995, the California Mathematics Task Force issued a report entitled "A Call to Action: Improving Mathematics Achievement for All California Students". The Task Force also provided specific recommendations for the…

According to some theorists, schools that dedicate themselves to systematic, collaborative problem-solving can continually develop and implement new ideas -- becoming what is called learning organizations. Ways in which schools accomplish this transformation are discussed. Although many researchers have failed to find schools that actually become…

Success for All, a comprehensive schoolwide reform program for elementary schools serving many children placed at risk of school failure, was first piloted in one Baltimore (Maryland) elementary school in the 1987-88 school year. Since then, the program has expanded rapidly; as of 1998-99, it was in more than 1,100 schools in 300 districts in 44…

A study of professional development intervention programs in which schools choose their own issues and action plans is presented in this report. "Intervention" refers to university introduction of new professional development models into the school. A 3-year program involving five schools in collaboration with university staff members and…

Administrative practices used by participants in administrator preparation programs who return to practice are described in this paper. The practices, which extend reflective, intellectual, critical, and participatory concepts into action models, include restructured educational assessment, peer coaching, and professional development. All are…

This booklet explains the value of networking--a procedure for establishing connections, securing information, and making problem-solving bridges out of shared experiences of work. It advises looking for networking opportunities to discover career strategy techniques as well as to provide support and, perhaps, to find a new or better job. The…

A study examined the similarities and differences which exist in the professionalization of public relations in Austria, Norway, and the United States. Subjects, 136 of 188 members of the Public Relations Verband Austria, 150 of 300 members of the Informasjonsforeningen (Norway), and 272 of 500 members of the Public Relations Society of America,…

Many of the characteristics typically associated with an occupation that is considered a profession are not commonly associated with teaching. These characteristics include: a clearly defined, codified, and accessible knowledge base; a structured, coherent induction experience monitored by oustanding practitioners; control of training,…

Findings of a study that examined the collaborative problem-solving processes used by superintendents are presented in this paper. Based on information processing theory, the study utilizes a model composed of the following components: interpretation; goals; principles and values; constraints; solution processes; and mood. Data were derived from…