This guidebook provides the principal with some fundamental tools for reducing stress and preventing professional burnout. Chapter 1 offers strategies for identifying and reducing personal stress. Cognitive restructuring is advocated as an effective, permanent approach, in which the individual changes patterns of thinking about stressful…

This paper reports a portion of the data from a larger study designed to examine the high school principal's influence on the classroom behavior and thinking of teachers. Data were derived from semistructured interviews conducted with a selective sample of 6 principals and 33 teachers in a suburban school district in the southeastern United…

Findings of a study that examined the collaborative problem-solving processes used by superintendents are presented in this paper. Based on information processing theory, the study utilizes a model composed of the following components: interpretation; goals; principles and values; constraints; solution processes; and mood. Data were derived from…

This collection of 12 author-contributed papers examines the notion of "academic community" within and among institutions of higher education. Papers are grouped into four sections which examine the idea of academic community, community through academic inquiry, community through curriculum, and community through organization,…

Prior to April 1, 1993, the education system in South Africa was fragmented along racial lines. Five departments of education existed, each with its own political head. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the organizational climate of the Department of Education and Training, which regulated education for the 10 major black…

This paper discusses the concept of a dual cultural and political perspective for analyzing interaction. It also illustrates how this dual perspective can explain how senior management teams (SMTs) operate in English secondary schools, in which senior faculty profess commitment to teamwork. Methodology included: (1) case studies of six secondary…

This study explored the nature of staff roles and relationships in four New Zealand kindergartens during the process of change that ocurred when a new staff member was taking up a position. The study attempted to identify features of early childhood settings in which relationships among staff were working well and settings in which they were not.…

One aspect of teacher induction that has been given inadequate attention in relation to its importance is the issue of mentor accountability. Using data from the 1989-1990 school year, this study investigated the degree to which mentors acted in accordance with standards set out by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Two research…

School districts considering a mentoring program need to consider four things: (1) the reasons for a teacher mentor program; (2) how to start such a program; (3) administrative support needed for a successful program; and (4) pitfalls to avoid. The reasons for having a mentor program are that it benefits the new teacher, the mentor, and the…

This paper explores the connection between workplace relationships and teacher development. Drawing on the first year of a 2-year qualitative study of teacher socialization, the paper explores the questions: With whom do beginning teachers form relationships in their new professional contexts? What is the nature of these relationships? What…

This research report focuses on identifying different phases of organizational mentorship, or examining how mentorship might differ for men and women, and compares informal (spontaneous and unstructured) and formal (organizationally arranged and structured) mentorships. Surveys were mailed to 158 individuals (43 surveys were eventually used) from…

A project to provide technical assistance to staffs of two demonstration programs for preschool handicapped children and their families is described. The focus was technical assistance developed and exercised by the Technical Assistance Development System (TADS), which assisted in the development of the Handicapped Children's Early Education…

The influence of the academic culture that academics learn from mentors and senior colleagues is considered, with attention to the socialization process, social learning theory, and the psychology of awareness. The nature of deliberation and decision-making in a typical college or university and the issue of whether the university operates on a…

Benefits of hospital-based internship and residency programs for training psychologists are discussed, along with issues concerning licensing or certification. In hospitals, interns and residents are exposed to unusual and diverse forms of physical and mental pathology, as well as contact with a diverse patient population crossing all ages, racial…

Some organizational activities can be understood in anthropological terms as "rites" affecting and reinforcing the organizational culture. Six specific rites are described and a case study is reported in which a change in a school committee's culture was attempted through a change in its rites. The first three rites examined relate to the…