For most high school teachers, it appears that the work group they most closely identify with is the department (or the discipline). There are some common bonds: a common language, similar educational backgrounds, a common respect for the subject, and a shared world view shaped by the discipline itself which predisposes the members of the group to…

Joint action among teachers appears to depend on the teachers' perceptions of their interdependence and the presence of opportunities for joint action. An urban middle school had been organized into teams on several levels with strong support from the principal. Three situations that altered these operating procedures provided evidence that…

Although multidisciplinary teams (MT) are often available to all students in a school district, questions concerning the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of MTs remain largely unanswered. To examine MT functioning in New York, a survey was conducted with 108 separate MTs representing 43 public school districts. Respondents completed the…

The responsibilities and skills of college development officers are discussed. The need for development officers has stemmed from financial problems that could only be solved through additional sources of revenue. In addition to understanding the concept and function of institutional development, the development officer must recognize that…

Describes how one middle school organized for better guidance services by developing a team of twelve teachers and two counselors, with each teacher required to spend some specified time in guidance department working with students and counselors. Eventually, the team became a catalyst for better teacher communication. (HMV)

The pupil personnel worker's role in assessing learning disabled students is examined. The functions of the evaluation team are delineated, as are individual roles of the school psychologist, classroom teacher, educational assessor, social worker, school counselor, attendance officer, and speech and language pathologist. Contents of the report are…

Designed by the Bloomfield Hills (Michigan) multidisciplinary evaluation team, the document suggests procedures and enabling activities to implement the assessment and identification of learning disabled students. Individual sections address five areas (ability, achievement, severe discrepancy, exclusionary clause, and need for special education…

School desegregation has added changes, uncertainty, and disruption to the factors already contributing to the public's declining confidence in public schools. Desegregation plans typically bring together two diverse communities--the white middle class and the minority poor--and often effect cataclysmic change. In this circumstance, the principal…

Naturalistic observation procedures were employed to study the assessment and decision making events that occurred in the cases of seven students from the time of referral for special education assessment to the time when an educational program was implemented or a decision made not to provide service. Details are presented of the sequence,…

A discussion of the Teacher Education Center Act in Florida is presented within the framework of historical collaboration between different components united to achieve mutual objectives. The basic problems facing successful organization of teacher centers are seen as threefold: institutions of higher education believe that they hold the primary…

Questionnaire data from 100 directors of special education were analyzed to examine the manner in which decisions are made about learning disabled (LD) children in school settings. Information was obtained on the membership of teams making screening, placement, and instructional planning decisions; major steps involved in the assessment and…