"Focus on Basics" is the quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. "Focus on Basics" is…

Teachers' self-evaluation can be used as a diagnostic means by principals and coordinators in order to know where the teachers need help. This study presents a self-evaluation form designed to highlight the needs that English teachers teaching across all levels (preschool-12) at a school in Lebanon had. It was divided into two parts: the first…

A qualitative study was undertaken to examine the perceptions of beginning teachers who were evaluated through an innovative teacher evaluation process. The evaluation was the Collaborative Assessment Procedure (CAP) implemented in a large midwestern urban school district. Beginning teachers were assigned a teacher consultant who observed the…

This booklet compares the Pacesetter English course in English language arts for twelfth-grade students with the "Standards for the English Language Arts," recently published by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association. The aim of the booklet is to demonstrate the links between the Standards…

From the time a new faculty member is hired until a final decision is made on promotion and tenure, his/her record will undergo constant scrutiny by departmental personnel committees, school and/or university-wide committees, external reviewers, and administrators. A formal and clear-cut mentoring system can benefit new faculty members: senior…

A diverse and growing body of research points to the need for an overhaul of America's public education systems. The Panasonic Foundation created its Partnership Program for systemic educational reform in 1987. Since then, the foundation has collaborated with 16 school districts and 3 state departments of education. This book informs others…

Since new role changes resulting from school reform agendas can place a school administrator at any career stage in uncharted territory, a career-long mentoring approach is recommended. The first chapters of this book introduce the concept of mentoring and the socialization framework consisting of characteristics, stages, methods, and goals.…

Education reform efforts across the United States are dramatically raising expectations for student achievement. However, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) found that teachers have not been adequately prepared for the changes in practice needed to meet new student learning goals. This publication briefly examines research…

This book looks at how portfolios may be used in the teaching profession as a powerful tool to help educators examine their beliefs about teaching, achieve personal growth and development, and work toward self-improvement. Each part of the book is independently authored. Section 1, by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Ellen Vogt, focuses on the…

This book, aimed at the young reader, explores the life and career of the Chinese-American author, Amy Tan. It follows her childhood in Oakland, California, through her struggle to accept her Chinese heritage, through her education and marriage to a non-Chinese man, to her early work as a business writer, and finally to her great success as a…

This book explores the life of Maya Angelou, the author the autobiographical "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." The book details her life from the beginning in Stamps, Arkansas, and relates how she has overcome many obstacles throughout her life to become the successful, educated woman she is today--author, political activist, actress,…

This book brings together the work of practitioners actively engaged in developing new approaches to management education, and their application. The 10 chapters are: Chapter 1, "Rethinking Management Education: An Introduction" (Christopher Grey and Robert French); chapter 2, "Can Management Education be Educational?" (Alan B. Thomjas and Peter…

A study investigated what organizational communication students learned from case simulations and role playing. Seniors and graduate students enrolled in two different 400-level courses taught in the Department of Speech Communication at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale engaged in different detailed case simulations that required them to…

Sound management principles can help ensure that early childhood programs provide sound services to children and families. This document contains three training modules detailing fundamental management concepts to help Head Start staff and parents provide quality services. Module 1, "What is Management?" helps participants recognize how…

This book is an outgrowth of an international seminar held in Bali, Indonesia in 1986 entitled "Improving the Quality of Teaching in the Developing World: Alternative Models." The book contains essays written by 20 authors and coauthors from 12 different countries and is divided into five sections, plus a preface. The focus of section 1,…