This case study presents findings of a year-long ethnographic study of a principal of a suburban elementary school. It concludes one of seven studies conducted in elementary and intermediate schools in urban, suburban, and rural settings that investigated the instructional management role of principals. Data collection involved hundreds of hours…

This guide assembles examples of staff development used by one large school district, Los Angeles Unified School District, to prepare teachers for the new role of mentor. In an effort to help mentors get off to a good start, the district's Professional Development Center assembled a 30-hour program of discussion panels, skill training, and problem…

Principals can influence instruction by working through the linkages that govern teacher behavior. What these linkages are, how they affect instruction, and the impact of the principal on them are the focus of this paper. Two kinds of linkages are distinguished: bureaucratic and cultural. An explantation of both, with particular attention to…

The knowledge structure of nursing, nursing concepts, and interaction patterns were studied at three nursing schools in Sweden. Attention was focused on six classification systems: communication pattern; personally directed content of talks; interaction structure and role behavior; content of instrumental versus emotional nature; disciplinary…

An annual foreign language festival established by McNeese State University and the Calcasieu Parish School System (Louisiana) was designed to motivate students, inform them of employment opportunities, help them understand their own and other heritages, and illustrate the international and intercultural opportunities and challenges of the modern…

Adversarial collective bargaining often leads to lingering resentments. Collaborative bargaining, conversely, is a problem-solving approach to contract negotiations based on common interests and mutual respect. It is estimated that at least 500 school districts nationwide incorporate major elements of the collaborative approach in their collective…

Some relevant issues concerning the mentoring of women and minorities in the realm of higher education are addressed, primarily focusing on the differences and problems that exist in assisting these two groups of professionals in achieving their career goals. The importance of mentoring and methods that can be used by a mentor in assisting the…

This collection of statements focuses on Title 2 of S. 1067, which calls for the National Science Foundation to establish a National Research and Education Network (NREN) by 1996. This is one of several titles in a bill to provide for a coordinated federal research program to ensure continued U.S. leadership in high performance computing. The…

The interrater reliability and factor structure of colleague ratings of university faculty were studied for 46 faculty members from 4 departments within the School of Education and Allied Professions at the University of Miami (Florida). Within each department, each faculty member rated every other faculty member using two methods: (1) a global…

The professional climate often experienced by women faculty and administrators is reported, along with some consideration to the experiences of graduate and professional students. Attention is focused on subtle ways in which women are treated differently and common behaviors that create a chilly professional climate. The information was obtained…

The Teaching Excellence Program, designed to promote faculty use of practice-centered inquiry, was conducted at a large research university (Ohio State). The program was based on a conceptualization of practice-centered inquiry that draws on action research, reflection-in-action, and action science ideas. Data collected throughout the program…

To explore several categories of variables strongly associated with professional satisfaction and dissatisfaction in American middle schools, responses of 540 out of 900 targeted middle school teachers to two open-ended questions were analysed. (The two survey items were drawn from the Status of the U.S. American Middle School Teacher…

Some of the issues, history, and approaches in the testing of second language writing skills are reviewed. It is argued that because writing serves many important functions in the lives of individuals and activities that speech cannot do equally well, it is time to stop viewing writing as secondary to speech and to accord it equal attention. Most…

Four strategies that deans and vice-presidents can use to enhance teaching are suggested. The first strategy is to seek out and fund teaching support activities that are the state of the art in each discipline. The second is to reward professors for excellence in teaching more than for excellence in research. Third, administrators should develop…

The leadership styles of 15 directors at Bowie State College (Maryland) was examined, using the Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD) Self Survey. The instrument presents situations that show the leader's concern for job relationships and tasks. Directors were defined as mid-level managers with key administrative and supervisory…