The student text explains stress factors and aids in the development of a personalized stress management program for rural special educators. The text is designed to help teachers analyze personal characteristics that relate to stress producing situations, reasons contributing to those personal characteristics, personal and professional effects of…

An exploration was made on how concepts and procedures relating to professional assessment and development can be integrated into preservice teacher education. A proposal for achieving the development goal of enhancement of each person's capacity for self-directed study and professional growth includes: (1) establishing support teams for teacher…

The competencies of the university secretary were studied at the University of Southern Maine. In addition to developing position descriptions, competencies that distinguish effective performers were also identified. Based on results of interviews with 24 secretaries, a competency-based model was developed. Fourteen competencies were categorized…

The paper describes the conflict between parental responsibility for a handicapped child, particularly a retarded child, and the parents' other interests and concerns. Swedish parents (N=60) of retarded children were interviewed once and three families were interviewed several times over a 6-month period. Parents typically went through a period of…

A study was conducted at a private junior college in northern Mississippi to assess alumni attitudes toward selected aspects of the college. Specifically, the study sought to determine the former students' primary reason for attending the college and their attitudes toward the philosophy and purposes of the college; their perception of…

The value of developmental baseline information is examined from an educational point of view. Data from studies on preschool children and primary and secondary school students that were carried out in Singapore are focal to the discussion. Sections of the paper concern: (1) assumptions about the value of baseline data on human development and…

Input language may have an effect on child development that goes far beyond language development alone. Language is the medium by which children acquire at least a portion of their sex role and social class or group characteristics, world view, and emotional and psychological well-being. Existing theories of psychological development ignore…

A sketch of some of the major advances in the field of infant development precedes a discussion which points out five policy implications of the research findings and explores the paradox that public policy lags far behind the current improved state of knowledge. Reasons for societal lack of attention to the needs of infants and for the worsening…

As socially supported institutions, schools must take their share of the responsibility for developing a comprehensive curriculum about family life and sexuality education. Schools have the opportunity to integrate sound sexual information, understanding of attitudes, and the development of knowledge related to sexual matters along with…

Noting that many elementary schools are introducing personal development programs into the curriculum, this newsletter focuses on a number of issues related to such programs. Various sections of the newsletter (1) define personal development for both teachers and parents; (2) present practical ideas and teaching strategies for programs in two…

In cooperative learning, as opposed to competitive and individualistic learning, students work together to accomplish shared goals. It is the most important of the three types of learning, but least used. Research indicates students will learn more, like school better, like each other better, and learn more effective social skills when cooperative…

The first section of this paper notes the tremendous number of approaches to teaching writing, the agreement among experts that writing involves developmental stages specific to each student, and the need for writing programs that challenge individuals at their various levels of development. The paper then describes a newly revised writing course…

The purpose of this study was to generate a theory of role personalization grounded in data obtained from beginning secondary teachers. Role personalization is defined as the way beginning teachers adapt the teacher role to meet their own needs, while at the same time being socialized into the role demanded by others. Ten beginning secondary…

Based on an address delivered at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association (Washington, D.C., September 7, 1968). A comment on the article by Robert E. Cleary is included.

Perspective transformation is a consciously achieved state in which the individual's perspective on life is transformed. The new perspective serves as a vantage point for life's actions and interactions, affecting the way life is lived. Three conditions are basic to achieving perspective transformation: (1) "feeling" experience, i.e.,…