The common thread that runs through the activities in a literacy course for undergraduate preservice teachers is text. One such activity is a literacy autobiography in which students focus on themselves as learners and teachers. Students are treated as professionals and make their own decisions about how they want to present themselves to their…

This paper describes the efforts of a private Australian school system to implement practices that facilitate system-wide school effectiveness. The Diocese of Parramatta, a system of 73 primary and secondary Catholic schools, implemented system-level practices that embody elements of Fullan's (1987) notions of support and pressure. The…

In 1987, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) adopted a faculty ethics statement developed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) detailing faculty responsibilities to their disciplines, as teachers, as colleagues, and as members of academic institutions. To make the AAUP statement more relevant to…

The regionalization of the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) in special education provides an effective and cost-efficient means of delivering training to parents and professionals. Public Law 101-476, the Individuals with Disabilities Act, mandated that each state form a CSPD, primarily to prepare personnel to educate children…

This document consists of an article and a two-page illustration "Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle." Noting that individual schools and communities throughout Indiana continue to struggle to meet the needs of young adolescents, the article discusses the work of the Stakeholder Steering Committee of the Middle Grades Reading…

Faculty development programs encompass a wide range of activities and allow community college faculty to improve instructional material and delivery and keep the spark of creativity and enthusiasm alive under pressures from decreasing budgets and heavier workloads. A recent program at Borough of Manhattan Community College focused on student needs…

This book provides a personal look at the styles of several school leaders, probes the literature on school leadership, and explores some of the instruments designed to measure leadership style. The introduction explains the need to change leadership styles as education changes. Chapter 1 examines the redefinition of leadership roles and the role…

Initiatives to bring about school improvement usually involve certain teachers taking on leadership roles. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the experiences of a small group of teacher leaders in schools that have demonstrated successful school improvement. The schools participated in a school-improvement project in England,…

Recent research has suggested that administrator preparation programs based exclusively on university courses are not very effective. Individuals progressing through innovative programs allowing greater opportunities for reflection and collaborative school/university activities should be better prepared to deal with the complex issues facing…

Six strategies for using reflective narratives to promote the professional development of school leaders are briefly described in this paper, which is designed to accompany "School Leadership: Reflections on Practice by California's Instructional Leaders." Narratives are characterized by subjective perceptions that are shaped by personal…

This paper describes the strategies, issues, activities, and interactions associated with establishing six professional development schools (PDS) as part of the Benedum Project in West Virginia. Establishment of the PDSs was a collaborative project, a school-university partnership between West Virginia University and local school districts. The…

The paper identifies key attributes of syntopical theory as developed by Mortimer Adler, examines the status of the foundations of education, and discusses the importance of a national dialogue about foundational studies in teacher education and syntopical theory. People who work in disciplines embedded in the foundations of education lack a…

Results of a staff development program designed to enhance participative decision-making through improving the quality circle process are presented in this practicum report. Methodology was based on two sets of interviews--needs assessment and followup--with school leaders at two school sites and onsite observation. After identifying problems in…

Most superintendents experience high levels of stress associated with their school administrator role. This paper reports on a survey conducted to help Maine superintendents better understand the stressors inherent in their role. The Survey of Superintendent Stressors was distributed to all 1989-90 Maine public school superintendents and a…

Implementation processes and outcomes at a junior high school of the Mastery in Learning Project, an NEA-sponsored national school transformation effort, are described in this paper. Based on the principle that a school's decisions should be made by its faculty, the project seeks to develop teachers' ability to creatively and cooperatively use…