A redefinition of the concept of learning necessitates the development of a "thinking curriculum." Second in a series of nine video conferences, this guidebook describes components of a thinking curriculum, which is characterized by a dual agenda of content and process. Contents of the guidebook include pre- and post-conference…

This paper asserts that task analysis and related task-based approaches to assessing leadership attributes provide a limited view of how leaders function in educational settings. It proposes that several assessment approaches show promise in identifying vocational education administrator leadership attributes. Strengths and limitations associated…

Educators have recently become more willing to realign the educational system. One approach is restructuring, which can take many forms. This study looks at three districts that restructured teaching, two with career ladders and one with shared governance. The reforms took two directions--professional and bureaucratic--which had important…

Discrepancies between actual and desirable organizational cultures, with a focus on the implications for improving administrator training, are examined in this report. The desirable characteristics of a productive school culture are determined and compared with the perceptions of Australian and U.S. staff. A mailed survey of 587 practitioners in…

This manual describes a training program for teacher evaluation. The purpose of the program is to provide educators who evaluate classroom instruction with the tools that result in professional growth for the teachers and improvement of classroom instruction. Joint participation by teachers and administrators is encouraged in all phases of the…

This research explored how student teachers learn to teach and how they orient themselves to the processes of professional learning. A group of ten primary-grade student teachers were followed through a one-year post-graduate teacher training course, focusing primarily on the one-term field experience that occurred in the middle of the year. The…

The 1986-1987 American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Research Committee identified as one of six goals the identification of two topics of high professional development need for school counselors and distribution of bibliographic information on these two topics. To achieve this goal, ASCA presidents and presidents-elect (N=31) completed…

Questions concerning the appropriate level of, and foundation for, professional education in social work have been raised. A study was undertaken to compare the professional achievements of individuals holding master's degrees in social work (MSWs) who had different types of undergraduate education. Subjects were 719 MSW graduates of the 5 years,…

A description is given of a client-based approach to staff development that emphasizes ongoing professional growth and learning for teachers. The underlying assumptions of the program are that teachers possess important clinical expertise, and that professional learning is an adaptive, heuristic process that is long-term and nonlinear. The program…

While supervision is recognized as a crucial aspect of organized education, it has received less attention than it deserves. This book treats educational supervision as a cooperative problem-solving process, rather than an aversive inspection for staff deficiencies. Part I describes benefits of the developmental approach. Part II focuses on the…

This speech explores the concept of professional self-renewal. The presenter seeks to understand why some professionals always seem fresh, energetic, and ready for new challenges, whereas others are perpetually tired, bored, and irritated with the demands of their work. Referring to McGregor's management theories, the paper infers that Theory X…

Since principals are chiefly responsible for school improvement and effectiveness, professional development opportunities must be provided throughout their administrative careers. Research has identified certain behavior patterns causally related to principals' effectiveness. Since the summer of 1984, the North Central Regional Staff Development…

A study was conducted to evaluate alternative methods of delivering professional development programs to local government personnel in Alberta. It consisted of the development of the analysis model, the identification and evaluation of selected alternative delivery systems, and the formulation of recommendations based on the study. Three major…

The goals of this program were to employ math, science, and occupational education teachers in positions that would expose them to advances in science and technology, thus increasing their effectiveness as teachers, and to provide businesses with competent part-time employees. Eighty-two teachers were employed and 30 businesses were served by the…

Published once each semester by Manhattan College (New York), the report serves as a resource for faculty and students as they deal with professional ethical dilemmas and conflicts in their course work and work lives; it also helps to further the Center for Professional Ethics' basic purpose of promoting greater sensitivity to the ethical…