In a telephone survey 18 new social work educators responded to questions about their perceptions of mentoring in their first years as faculty members. Found that they believe mentoring relationships provide them with multiple benefits, including improved teaching and research performance. Also identified several factors important to the success…

Suggests that mentorships for beginning K-12 teachers can stem the departure of new teachers. Reports that the MASTER Teacher organization has collaborated with the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement to develop an online Teacher Training Academy (TTA), in which a facilitator mentors a small group of…

Offers advice to English department chairs: when talking to the dean, learn a new perspective, a new language (the language of college administration), and new skills; when talking to colleagues, be jargon-free and appeal to shared values; and when talking to students, be explicit about what the department has to offer. (RS)

This article provides 10 recommendations for new special education faculty, including: keep and file your papers, be wary of busy colleagues, don't recycle your publications, keep data on your publications, learn to take and give criticism, see the sights when you travel, schedule time with your colleagues, and be quantitative. (CR)

How can a young media specialist not only survive but thrive during their first year on the job? What do you need to know about working with an experienced staff? In this article, the author provides some strategies that helped the author earn his colleagues' respect. Sections include: (1) Listen and Learn; (2) Take the Terror out of Technology;…

The exclusion of pupils from mainstream and special schools remains a serious issue in the UK despite various initiatives to reduce both the number and the impact of such exclusions. Among those who are consistently over-represented in the exclusion statistics for England are pupils with special educational needs (SEN)--particularly, but not…

This article discusses the (National Staff Development Council's (NSDC) 12 Under 12 project and how it helps the participating schools in closing the academic achievement gap. NSDC embarked on the 12 Under 12 project as a way of prodding schools into moving more quickly than the federal government's requirement that every student meet or exceed…

Public policy questions such as public funding for Catholic schools, the extent of government involvement in private education, and church-state relations in general are not unique to the United States. This article discusses Catholic education in Scotland, with a view to explaining the ongoing need for cooperation and goodwill in church-state…

Grooming an assistant principal to lead a school is a privilege for any principal and enables him or her to leave a larger mark on the field. Although assistant principals are ultimately responsible for their own professional growth, principals must not underestimate their responsibility to help train aspiring principals. Preparing assistant…

This article explores the concept of community of enquiry through an examination of 3 case studies: (a) a school-based community of enquiry involving pupils, teachers, and researchers; (b) a community of enquiry involving teachers from around 100 different schools in a Scottish local authority, together with policy advisers and researchers; and…

The staff development teacher facilitates the evolution of a school-based professional learning community focused on improving teaching and learning by being a catalyst for teacher change and reflection. These teacher leaders needed the knowledge and skills to transform individual school staffs into professional learning communities focused on…

This paper reports on a study of student learning about collaboration and discusses the effectiveness of different forms of assessment in facilitating learning. The study was conducted in a large health and social care faculty in which all students on pre-qualifying professional programmes learn together in modules aimed at developing…

Mentor teachers have an important role in inducing beginning teachers into the profession. They must be highly accepting of new teachers and be able to work with teachers possessing a wide variety of personalities and purposes. Mentor teachers must be chosen carefully. The mentor teacher should be highly knowledgeable about methods of teaching…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the perceptions of a first-year principal and faculty as they responded to implementation efforts to develop a collaborative climate in their rural Louisiana elementary school. Data were obtained from interviews with the principal and 31 teachers, a principal survey and a teacher survey, and…

Researchers who have focused on issues of interpersonal communication in organizations have concluded that it is an essential component of organizational life. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the communicator image of human-resource managers. A survey instrument called the Norton Communicator Style Measure (CSM) was sent to…