The state of Oklahoma sought to determine the effectiveness of its entry-year assistance committees which were designed to help beginning teachers. The study also assessed the contribution of the committees to the improvement of teacher education programs and their contribution to the induction of new teachers. The survey instrument consisted of:…

Many colleges continue to report high attrition rates among distance education students. This study included a survey of students at Coastline Community College to determine why they dropped or failed their distance-learning courses and to identify methods that might improve their success and retention. Questionnaires were sent to a group of…

Many universities and colleges are moving from traditional on-campus teaching to also teaching online courses to distant students. Institutions face many challenges in supporting their distant students and need a holistic view of the support that distant students require. This paper proposes ways that institutions could meet these needs of online…

This study tested the reliability of Lortie's (1975) "apprenticeship-of-observation" theory in the development of physical education teachers. The theory suggests that beginning teachers' socialization into teaching starts when they are students and serves to perpetuate traditions at the expense of reflective and informed change.…

This paper addresses the problem of school phobia, one of the most common childhood anxiety disorders. It presents four case studies of preadolescent school phobia involving two girls and two boys in grades four through seven. Several features of effective strategies for the assessment and treatment of school phobia which have emerged from the…

The paper examines issues in special education teacher attrition and reviews a variety of induction and mentorship programs to lessen the common isolation of beginning teachers. Statistics indicating the high attrition rate among beginning teachers, especially special education teachers are cited and related to lack of training and ongoing…

Recruitment and retention of special education teachers and related services staff have been persistent problems of rural school districts nationwide. High teacher attrition rates have serious ramifications for personnel development and program stability. Effective recruitment strategies for rural areas have four main components: (1) emphasis on…

Research on the training needs of part-time community education workers in 1988 in Scotland focused on adult educators. Thirty-two 45-minute tape-recorded interviews were conducted in three areas: an inner-city area, a rural area, and a mixed area of large towns with a rural hinterland. The interviewee group included 21 part-time adult educators…

This "Counselor's Recipe Book" provides activities, forms, and information to aid elementary and middle school counselors in improving services and programs for students. The first set of materials relates to designing the program, and includes materials for orientation, analysis of the individual, and curriculum input. Next comes a set of…

The comparative effects and outcomes of two beginning teacher induction programs--a formal team approach and an informal buddy system--on novice teaching performance and teacher attitudes toward teaching are examined in this study. The sample of 26 novice elementary teachers included one male. Fourteen participated in the structured team approach…

A model designed to assist planners of professional development programs develop training programs for administrative mentors is described in this paper. A brief overview of basic concepts and definitions of mentoring is followed by a discussion of factors necessary to the development of mentoring, which are: trust, adequate resources, open…

This publication was written in response to a need among colleges of agriculture to examine alternative recruitment strategies. It assesses efforts by the University of Georgia's College of Agriculture to recruit students through an annual campus visitation program entitled "Ag Horizons: A Career Institute." Since 1984, Ag Horizons has…

This study examines the effect of one social milieu factor (Israeli kibbutz versus urban lifestyle) on Israeli adolescents' future orientation. Responses of 114 kibbutz and 112 urban adolescents to an open-ended Future Orientation Questionnaire are grouped into nine life domains: school and matriculation, military service, higher education, work…

Components of a student retention program at Eastern Michigan University are examined; for each effort to improve retention, project objectives and design, results, and recommendations are presented. Retention initiatives, decided upon as a result of a campus-wide mobilization of effort, include: a student-focused orientation system, a fast track…

This document presents reports of three studies focused on cooperative pedagogical strategies. The first concerns individualistic and cooperative goal structures in high school mathematics achievement. Two general mathematics classes were taught a unit on percents, one with a cooperative and the other an individualistic goal structure. The…