Over the last decade, policy and business leaders have come to know what parents have always known: teachers make the greatest difference to student achievement. With new statistical and analytical methods used by a wide range of researchers, evidence has been mounting that teacher quality can account for a large share of variance in student test…

This district report summarizes results from the 2006-2007 through 2008-2009 Austin Independent School District (AISD) staff climate surveys.

Learning in workplaces is always mediated through talk. It is tempting for management to seek to utilise everyday talk as part of learning and therefore enhance productivity. This paper examines the responses of workers to interventions that aim to formalise informal conversations at work as part of an explicit workplace learning strategy. It…

This article examines the salary trajectory of teachers as they move up the career ladder into leadership positions. The issue of compensation is set in the context of a principal shortage that has been widely reported and discussed in the literature. Urban schools are shown to experience the principal shortage differently from rural schools.…

Considerable research has been conducted into teacher retention and attrition (Huberman, 1989; Dinham, 1995; Ewing & Smith, 2002). Little is known, though, of the circumstances of ex-teachers, in terms of factors such as salary, workload, working conditions and "job prestige". For this paper, telephone interviews were conducted with 22…

Dynamic new ventures like the Knowledge is Power Program, Teach For America, and New Leaders for New Schools, are increasingly being asked to step in to assist struggling school districts. While promising, these ventures have thus far typically been characterized by "one-off" examples of success that are extraordinarily reliant on talent and…

Responses of a local sample of production workers to a job satisfaction questionnaire are compared with those of an earlier national sample. Differences between the two groups suggest that employees' life and work situations are at least as influential in changing questionnaire responses as the wording of the questions is. (Author/BP)

The authors define the Flexible Manufacturing System and outline its history. They describe what the processing time includes and provide advantages and disadvantages of Flexible Manufacturing Systems compared to conventional manufacturing. (CH)

Knowing how to deal with people can make the difference between success and failure on the job. (JOW)

Discusses research that looked at the actions, policies, and responses of organizations concerning training issues and substance abuse. Found that without training, an organization cannot successfully wage the war against alcohol and drug abuse at work. (JOW)

The Tobit econometrics technique was used to analyze data from the University of Michigan's Quality of Employment Survey 1972-73 regarding the correlates of work tardiness. Evidence is found that (1) marriage and experience have negative and significant effects on tardiness; (2) professionals and commuters are tardy more often than others; and (3)…

The pattern and content of social interactions of successful disabled and nondisabled employees were observed in two employment settings. Data suggest that both groups were active social interactants who frequently worked cooperatively, yet interacted relatively infrequently with their supervisors. Implications for future research are discussed.…

Maintains that major changes are required in training and human resource development to meet the challenges of the postindustrial society. Uses "metaindustrial" to describe the emerging work environment dominated by the new technologies of communications, information processing, microelectronics, and biotechnology. (Author)

Studies the physician's choice of a practice location as a factor influencing lifetime earnings. Also, computations of net present values associates with the decision to specialize, rather than enter general or family practice, suggest that returns to specialty choice are highly dependent upon the choice of a practice location. (CT)

Outlines several steps that can be taken to protect pregnant workers from work hazards. (IRT)