Before "unstructuring" or "restructuring," a school or district or state should think first about students, adopt successful learning as the criterion for judging the appropriateness of all daily activities, expect all adults to be successful learners, and identify the rules, roles, and relationships (the social structure) needed to support…

Effective principals pay close attention to body language and other subtle actions that are constantly read and interpreted by staff and students. Principals must not only talk the talk of an instructional leader but also walk the walk of a committed instructional leader. Specific suggestions are provided. (MLH)

Examined ethnic diversity of the grandmother role and implications for strengthening support networks of older African-American women. Findings from 79 African-American grandmothers and 87 white grandmothers 65 years of age and older showed cultural distinctions in grandmother role. Results have important implications for strengthening the natural…

Examined how fathers (n=32) of young children shaped fatherhood roles according to models in their lives. Respondents' own fathers were not seen as good role models. Fathers tended not to model behavior after particular individual but to select particular behaviors to incorporate into their roles. Subjects placed emphasis on providing role model…

Interviewed 114 grandparents. Found three major grandparent roles: custodial, living with grandchild, and day-care roles. Found that custodial grandparents often obtained that relationship because of severe problems in nuclear family. Day-care grandparents provided regular help to grandchild's nuclear family. Decision to provide care was often…

Summarizes findings of a study identifying problematic aspects of the deputy principalship (job dissatisfaction and lack of a significant professional identity) in self-managed Western Australia primary schools. Deputy principals can reshape their positions by increasing their role awareness, assuming greater policymaking responsibility,…

Examined how both division of household labor and perceptions of its equity relate to spouses' reports of marital conflict and satisfaction in 656 working-class and middle-class dual-earner families. For middle-class wives, perceptions of equity had strongest effect on marital conflict. For working-class wives, higher proportion of traditionally…

Examined elementary school counselors' perceptions of their current interventions with families, their ideal forms of family interventions, and barriers to working with families. Findings from 249 counselors revealed that counselors preferred to work with children individually and consult with teachers more than doing parent consultation.…

Collected data from 206 probation officers to examine work ideologies of juvenile versus adult probation officers. Findings revealed that juvenile and adult probation officers differed in their opinions about the best method of managing offenders under correctional supervision, with juvenile workers expressing more support for casework-type…

A study of 103 (of 143) teachers' expectations of occupational therapists working with exceptional children in Ontario public schools found that (1) teachers consider therapists to be important; (2) they think therapists should define their role and responsibility further; and (3) they believe therapists should work with special needs children…

Notes that sudden loss of child, especially by suicide, can be lifelong sentence of suffering for bereaved parents. Sees reaching out for help as often inconceivable and impossible task for parent survivors because of complex grief process. Explores what role helpers can play, who can fill helper position, and what criteria helpers must meet to be…

Administrators are missing access to endless information and support if they disregard library media specialists (LMSs)' expertise. LMSs offer access to research, periodicals, and statistics benefiting the entire school community. They can contribute to public relations, facility planning, curricular tie-ins, technology training, grant-writing…

There are six basic qualities of good mentoring: commitment to the mentoring role, acceptance of beginning teachers, proficiency at providing instructional support, interpersonal effectiveness, skill at modeling continuous learning, and ability to communicate hope and optimism. A sidebar explains the Mentoring Leadership and Resource network. (10…

Suggests that gifted students often face mixed messages based on others' beliefs about giftedness. Identifies patterns of coping behaviors against the backdrop of such messages along a continuum which ranges from not identifying with other gifted students, blending in with the general student population, or embracing the stereotypical gifted…

Attempts to establish a distinction among echelons comprising Israel's centralized educational system by exploring their role perceptions of stress, tension, ambiguity, risk, and exposure to criticism. Findings indicate that echelons are characterized by their perceptions of risk and exposure to criticism, but not by their perceptions of role…