This digest offers basic information about resources, available to users of personal computers, in the area of professional development in special education. Two types of resources are described: those that can be purchased on computer diskettes and those made available by linking personal computers through electronic telephone networks. Resources…

Public relations instructors can begin to develop an appreciation of the social, political and economic (S-P-E) contexts on the part of their students by beginning to integrate this thinking into existing courses and curricula. Social contexts deal with cultural and subcultural beliefs, contacts within a community or organization, and frames of…

Data on the type and quality of preparation, types of licenses and endorsements held, and current teaching situation of teachers have not regularly been collected in Nevada. This study represents an effort to develop a profile of social studies teachers in Nevada. All 586 secondary school social studies teachers in Nevada received the study…

In the study reported here, it is argued that recent policies implemented to improve the quality of the teaching profession by altering career structures are not likely to affect positively teachers' practices, teachers' work conditions, students' learning, or traditional school organizational patterns. Analyses of four teacher career structures…

This paper aims to accomplish several purposes through conceptual analysis, story telling and interpretation, excursions into philosophy, and recent studies of teachers' professional development. First, the paper identifies limitations and confusions in current conceptions of teachers' professional thinking: equating teacher thinking with planning…

Various organizations in Oklahoma that had an interest in administrator preparation, certification, and professional development pooled their efforts and worked collegially to apply for and use the state Leadership in Educational Administration Development (LEAD) grant for the professional improvement of state school administrators. The LEAD…

Based on the concept of telecommunications as an effective means for creating a forum on school restructuring, the first video conference in a series of nine focuses on recent research on learning and describes the characteristics of successful learners from three perspectives: cognitive, philosophical, and multicultural. Provided in this…

In response to the need for professional growth opportunities for principals, the Indiana Principal Leadership Academy (IPLA) was founded in 1985. The IPLA was created to be a national training model for principals, as leaders of instructors, empowered with effective behaviors and practices. The academy's focus is on four proficiencies: (1)…

This study sought to determine if the Fuller Teacher Concerns Theory explains the development of first-year teachers with and without mentors and of reentry teachers with and without mentors. The Fuller Theory identified three stages of concern as teachers develop professionally: self-survival, teaching tasks, and impact on students. Data were…

Improving educational quality at the primary level is a major goal of Thailand's sixth 5-year Education Development Plan (1987-91). There is a special commitment to improve quality in rural areas and among economically disadvantaged groups, handicapped children, and linguistic minorities. Inservice education is one vehicle for training teachers to…

The purpose of this study was to produce a written long-range plan for providing cost-effective and workable continuing education (CE) for the library community in the state of Washington. The report summarizes the information gathered from surveys of 26 library associations and agencies that were known providers of CE in Washington and in-depth…

Funded under the Apple Model Program for the Integration of Computers in the Preparation of Educators, the University of South Alabama began a 3-year project in 1989 to train faculty in its College of Education to incorporate hypermedia into their curriculum. HyperCard was selected as a course presentation and development tool because of its…

The director of a child care center implemented and evaluated a 10-week practicum intervention designed to provide orientation and training experiences for the center's staff. About one third of the staff were part-time college students; one third were full-time workers with no degree; and one third were full-time professionals with college…

Brief descriptions are given of three studies that explored the role of theory in instruction, decision-making, professional development and teacher/student transactions. The first, by Karen Ray, was an observation study of three reading/language arts teachers who were seen to act consistently according to their personal theory of reading and…

A study identified, explicated, and refined systematically components central to the professional competence of home economics educators. First, components that are central to the professional development of home economists were identified and proposed . Second, through the processes of conceptual analysis and dialectic interpretation, each…