A parody addresses the common situation where a learning organization places unreasonable hope and faith in the services of an external consultant to reform general and special education. Educators are urged to use such consultants intelligently but to rely primarily on their own professional experience, professional confidence, and motivated…

In times of fast-paced change, institutions of higher education need to explore new models to lead change successfully. Georgia Tech's experience points one way forward. Describes the development and efforts of Georgia Tech Consulting Services, which was created to support projects to improve Georgia Tech's business services and processes, and…

Presents results from a survey in the United States that provides some indication of how reading specialists fulfill their roles and how they offer students effective literacy instruction. Notes that the goal was to investigate what reading specialists do so that educators could better understand how they provide services to students and teachers.…

Examines the questions to consider when deciding to use consultants in addressing school safety and crisis preparedness. Reasons for exercising caution when selecting security consultants are addressed. (GR)

During the past 30 years, the author has served as a management consultant to companies that wanted to achieve revolutionary change to become more successful. He has worked with companies as small as 100 employees and as large as General Motors, IBM and Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company. More recently he has worked (as a pro bono…

Using the principles of mental health and behavioral consultation, combined with concepts from positive psychology, this paper generates a new preventative model of school consultation. This model has two steps: (1) the school psychologist aids the teacher in the development and use of his/her personal positive psychology (e.g., optimism,…

This scenario discusses a situation in which a proposal has been published by a consortium of foundations for an "external" evaluator to evaluate a replication at two new sites of a program they have been funding for many years. A proposal is received from Dr. Porto-Novo, who has been the external evaluator of the initial program for about 10…

Teacher and student acceptability of academic interventions is an important factor for school-based consultants to consider in determining the use and effectiveness of academic interventions. This study compared the acceptability of 3 theoretically distinct mathematics interventions: a cognitive, a behavioral, and a traditional intervention. The…

There are four common stages in the consultative journey: (1) preparing for the relationship; (2) making the most of the experience; (3) committing to change; and (4) acknowledging separations, endings, and good-byes. Two Early Head Start program leaders recount their own experiences of these stages while working with infant mental health…

The explosive growth of the consulting industry in recent years and the controversy surrounding the quality of the consulting function stresses the needs for a better preparation and training of consultants. This article examines the contribution that academia can provide in furthering the development of consultants at different stages in their…

As computer applications are added to social work, educators are increasingly likely to encounter computer anxiety. This form of anxiety has been well-documented in the literature, including warnings that students attracted to fields that are "people professions" such as social work may be especially prone to problems. This qualitative study used…

In this article, the author presents an ethnographic study that investigated the relationships that evolve when professional nurses who own a home health care agency write for multiple, conflicting corporate discourse communities, including their lawyers, management consultants, and marketing professionals. This study revealed that conflicting…

This book offers sample documents for candidates as well as for the search committees, and includes a substantive bibliography. From her vantage point outside the institution, the author is able to provide a unique point of view and insightful comments on the complex and often daunting process of the academic executive search. Key selling points…

This article explains how a project owner can be an active participant during the design and construction of his/her facility. The author discusses the two levels of participation the project owner needs to actively work with the design and construction team. And he further states that a project owner can enrich his/her personal experience and…

Five years ago, the National Institute of Certified College Planners, an organization that licenses college-planning professionals, did not exist. This year the organization has 1,200 registered members. Professionals in college financial planning say business is booming, and the bulk of demand for their services is coming from families with…