In 1988, the National Child Care Staffing Study first gathered information on staffing and quality from a sample of child care centers in five metropolitan areas--Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Phoenix, and Seattle--and returned for updated information in 1992. In 1997, directors of the original sample of centers still in operation were contacted again…

This qualitative study of 26 women full professors representing a variety of academic disciplines and professional fields at a Research I university explores issues of gender identification and women's community. The study found that respondents viewed their principal responsibility as advancement of their respective disciplines and perceived…

Describes a contractually negotiated income/leisure substitution provision commonly used in Canada. The deferred-salary leave plan gives teachers greater control over their work lives by letting them set aside monies to underwrite future leaves of absence. The plan may help teachers alleviate job stress, offset increased demands of reform…

This study examined the effects of a number of socioeconomic variables on resumption of work after a spinal cord injury. A self-completed questionnaire by 277 people of working age found that high educational level and early impairment increased probability of employment. Unemployed people tended to be dissatisfied, while more highly educated,…

This study used path analysis to examine the effects of work-related factors--including principal support, stress, role problems, job satisfaction, and commitment--on 542 Virginia special educators' expressions of intent to stay in teaching. The study concluded that these work-related variables should be included in strategies for retaining…

A healthy work environment for the business-office team requires a balance among the components of organizational leadership, collective continuous improvement, and individual caring. (MLF)

An attorney provides the legal background for sexual harassment suits. Defines actions that school administrators can take to limit exposure to a charge of sexual harassment or to provide a good defense once a charge has been filed. Contains a sample effective sexual harassment policy and a 17-item sexual harassment quiz. (MLF)

Total quality management (TQM) has become a U.S. social movement. This commentary analyzes the writings of W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and Kaoru Ishikawa to assess TQM's coherence, distinctiveness, and likely perseverance. Rhetoric is winning over substance, unrelated interventions are being herded under the TQM banner, and research is not…

Evaluation of job-related tension as perceived by 52 New Zealand rehabilitation service providers found a positive relationship between job tension and general psychological distress, a negative relationship between self-esteem and both job tension and distress, and a moderating effect of positive self-esteem on effects of job tension. (Author/DB)

Explores 40 urban principals' perceptions concerning obstacles to school effectiveness. Schools as organizational workplaces are plagued by stress, frustration, and alienation. There is a growing gap between school culture and the larger society. Kids who no longer buy into the American dream often fail to meet educator-imposed expectations.…

Focuses on the challenges and needs faced by early career faculty. Draws on case study interviews to point out the problems that exist for younger faculty as they struggle to attain tenure. Provides recommendations about how the system might be improved. (MJP)

Analyzes how locus of control affects teachers instructional perceptions, their perceived workload, and their professional satisfaction. Reveals that teachers emphasizing an internal locus of control are satisfied professionally, see teaching as demanding, and positively view their instructional practices; teachers emphasizing an external locus of…

A study proposed a structural model of college faculty worklife and tested its generalizability by examining possible differences in the model across three cross-sectional samples of probationary faculty at a major research university over an eight-year period. Identified trends in faculty perceptions about their worklife over time can be used as…

Techniques for supervising day camp staff so that they develop responsibility include holding daily morning meetings with the entire staff, taking the "open door" to staff, encouraging information sharing, managing by walking around, ending the day with a short assembly, and observing staff at the end-of-the-day dismissal and other major…

Examined social-contextual conditions that led teachers to be more autonomy supportive versus controlling with students. Using structural equation modeling the authors observed that the more pressure teachers perceive from above and from below, the less they are self-determined toward teaching. In turn, the less they are self-determined, the more…