Intended primarily for librarians and media specialists, this book offers an in-depth analysis of alphabet books from their serious, religious beginnings to their "funny," instructive, and artistic present. The book lists 542 titles with short annotations, suggested activities, and essays on each type of book. Following an introduction,…

This document was developed to provide assistance to individuals in education organizations who want to learn more about what it takes to develop the best possible technology solution for an organization. It identifies the steps needed to determine technology needs, to list options, to acquire the technology, and to implement a technology solution…

In fall 1995, a study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness, according to student perception, of the educational planning system of the San Diego Community College District (California). Of the 26,753 students who enrolled via the district's telephone registration system that fall, 6,937 answered at least one question on an optional survey…

To expose students to classic, contemporary, and other important literature in the field and to encourage wide reading, students were given the opportunity to self-select a text to read in addition to their usual required college text. Students were given lists of possibilities to choose from but they were free to select any text, as long as they…

This study investigated changes between 1987 and 1996 in the proportions of ACT-tested students taking or planning to take high school mathematics and science courses prior to high school graduation. The changes in course-taking patterns among racial/ethnic and gender subgroups were also compared. The seven courses studied were Algebra II,…

Male teachers constitute only 12 percent of the elementary teaching workforce. This low number persists despite nearly a century of work to increase their numbers. This paper outlines various hypotheses generated from collaborative interviews with 15 Iowa elementary teachers. Section 1 examines the assumed advantage men have in affirmative hiring,…

Myriad issues face those who manage school personnel. Explicating the wide range of activities covered by the term "personnel management" is the object of this text. It is geared for prospective and current school administrators whose responsibilities include any aspect of personnel management. The text is organized around the premise that student…

Published 10 times a year, Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) Kits and Flyers contain information on issues of concern to libraries and librarians; they are the result of surveys on topics related to practice and management of library programs in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). This document focuses on the organization of…

Children are naturally drawn to award-winning books. Those who work with children know that the appeal of these books often comes from the shiny gold, silver, or bronze seals affixed to the covers of these special books. Teachers and librarians, however, need to be aware of the fact that the Newbery and Caldecott, and lesser known awards, are…

Intended primarily for teachers, this brochure from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) discusses censorship guidelines for nonprint media--television, music video, videotape, film, radio, compact disk, and hypertext for personal computers--that English language arts teachers often use in their classrooms and for student…

A survey consisting of multiple choice and free response questions was administered to California Community Colleges (CCC) chief executive officers (CEOs) in fall 1996 to identify some of the similarities in the professional practices and patterns to success among this group. Of 125 CEOs surveyed, 81 or 65% responded. Multiple choice results…

Asserting that books should be a vital part of children's lives from the earliest months, this publication provides guidelines to help parents, teachers, librarians, and others to select appropriate books for young children. Chapter 1 argues that using books will help to establish positive parent-child relationships and to ensure adequate language…

This strategy brief identifies current strategies developed by states to recruit and hire quality teachers. It describes innovative efforts to attract students and mid-career professionals to the teaching profession, as well as incentives to lure well-qualified and experienced teachers to hard-to-staff schools and subject areas where teachers are…

This report offers insight into how schools can find quality teachers to staff their classrooms by examining how districts responded to the teacher shortage over the period 1999 to 2002. It presents results of an 18-month study that analyzed data at 3 levels: a nationally representative database; a survey of 110 human resource directors across the…

Project Look Sharp is an initiative to promote and support the integration of media literacy into classroom curricula at all grade levels and instructional areas, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of media literacy education in the schools. It provides the following 12 guidelines as basic principles for incorporating media literacy into any…