Despite research findings showing that mentoring exists in all types of organizations, it is unclear whether mentoring is critical to advancement to the highest levels of organizations, and if it is, what factors in the mentoring relationship are critical to that success. This paper presents case studies of mentoring taken from three…

This paper describes a study of teachers in an elementary school, how they constructed and viewed their understandings of social and professional organization, how these understandings were modified as the central values of the organization, and how its social and political context underwent significant changes. The report focuses on the values…

Outcomes of a mentoring-based preservice training program for educational administrators, the Danforth Foundation Program for the Preparation of School Principals, are described in this paper. Components of the program included field-based experiential learning, educational collaboration, and mentoring with experienced administrators. Phase 1…

This study of educator interviews and conferences required by the Louisiana teacher certification program (Louisiana System for Teaching and Learning Assessment and Review (STAR)) is grounded in the supposition that metaphors infuse educators' everyday professional interactions. Of particular interest were: the nature of the various conference…

The key to producing professional quality documents is the dialogue between writers and editors. Such a dialogue should include six major components: genuineness, accurate empathetic understanding, unconditional positive regard, presentness, a spirit of mutual equality, and a supportive psychological climate. Such an atmosphere was created at one…

Interviews with six managers trained to teach the Interpersonal Managing Skills (IMS) program at the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company provided insights into three aspects of communication training programs: training skills, the trainer role, and methods of training the trainer. A highly structured, packaged program, IMS teaches five…

A case study describes how a rural local education agency (Allegany County, Maryland) developed a comprehensive staff development system. It presents some contextual and theoretical background information, summarizes the problem as perceived by key actors, and then describes a series of activities resulting in the development of the comprehensive…

Recommendations to help student interns in administrative positions maximize their educational opportunities vis-a-vis the "real world" and to also help them avoid certain placement-associated problems. The suggestions may be helpful to both new and established internship directors as well. Attention is focused on governmental administrative…

The development of an instrument to measure faculty attitudes toward renewal activities is discussed, along with results of applying the instrument with a small sample. Attention was focused on attitudes toward faculty and their development through contact outside the office. The instrument was administered to 15 faculty in the School of Education…

Basic issues in nursing education, practice, and public policy initiatives and preliminary recommendations for action are discussed, based on research conducted by the National Commission on Nursing. Findings are based on public hearings, a review of journal articles since 1975 and state studies and policy documents since 1977, and a survey of…

The development of a conceptual framework for the design and management of planned institutional change for continuing education programs is described, based on a change project developed by Hanna and Pollicita. Conceptual approaches to planned change in complex organizations and the views of Havelock and Lindquist are considered. The importance…

Early in their professional careers, school principals are found to have unique needs. This document provides a description of the ways in which these needs have been addressed as a result of the recent enactment of the Entry Year Standard program in the state of Ohio. First, the nature of the new Entry Year Standard is described, with particular…

The diversity of textbook and scholarly book reviewers makes it difficult for an author to deal with reviews in any systematic or preplanned manner. There are, however, several helpful working assumptions: (1) the reviewer is always right, (2) the author is always right in principle but frequently wrong in practice, (3) the publisher wants what…

The management styles of presidents of 10 Christian, liberal arts colleges were assessed, as part of research conducted at Christian or church-related liberal arts colleges that were identified as being well managed by one or more persons. The 10 presidents ranged in age from the late 30s to the early 60s, with an average age of 52.2. Their…

In response to the broad question of what is needed to ensure quality instruction into the next century, this paper addresses three related issues. First, it is suggested that radically different inquiry and research perspectives, based on the quasi-anthropological concept of schools as culture systems, need to be subsumed into educators'…