This report provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. Some of these indicators document that student safety has improved. For example, the victimization rate of students ages 12-18 at school declined from 73 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2003 to 55 per 1,000 students victimizations in 2004. However, other…

Community college department chairs have many diverse responsibilities. One role which needs to be given more emphasis is that of "promoting excellent teaching." The three conditions which must be present for a department chair to begin promoting excellent teaching are open, honest, and positive communication; the ability to provide immediate…

The rationale for and obstacles to faculty development are considered, and recommendations for administrators to follow in initiating and implementing programs are offered. Faculty development is needed for at least three important reasons: knowing a subject does not mean an individual can effectively teach it; faculty need to learn how to teach…

This study was designed to compare the psychosocial environments of different types of schools (primary, high schools, district schools, and secondary colleges). The Moos's Work Environment Scale (WES) was administered to teachers from government and non-government schools in Tasmania. The WES focused on the dimensions of involvement, work…

Changes in instructional methods and ideologies depend on simultaneous changes in the physical environment for the practice of those methods. School architecture results from the type of activity dictated by educational theories. One of the principal ideologies of education is socialization, which perceives education as a process of preparing…

Recently, the traditional school structure has been harshly scrutinized for several key defects, including bureaucratic rules and regulations, professional isolation of teaching staff, evaluation systems irrelevant to instructional improvement, low teacher participation in decision making, and noncooperation between teachers and administrators.…

The Commission on Master Teachers shares the results of its study and deliberations on career ladders in teaching by examining assumptions, recalling facts about educational change, and posing critical questions in regard to the purpose, design, process, and support needed to establish a school district career ladder staffing arrangement. Proposed…

In the first chapter of this book, which deals with the world and work of teachers, themes are explored that capture the essential "dailiness" of working in schools, and a general description is given of what it is like to be a teacher. The cyclical rhythms and patterns of the school year are considered, as are the formal and informal…

Without governors' support, the emerging teaching reform agenda will go nowhere. States should eschew their "deja vu" attitudes and embrace quality of education as a major determinant of state and national economic survival. The governors' action agenda includes 10 recommendations addressing teacher education and standards, work…

Examines the occupational, managerial, and personal factors contributing to teacher burnout. Briefly reviews the relevant literature covering key characteristics and definitions. Includes a discussion of active and passive coping strategies. (MJP)

This survey sought to determine workload and stress levels of college teaching staff represented by the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education (ASTE) of New Zealand. The survey examined issues related to workload and stress including: perceptions of workload, sources of stress, work responsibilities/roles, quality of work areas, student…

In 1986, a study was conducted of the level of job satisfaction among full-time faculty in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). Questionnaires were distributed to 1,000 randomly selected full-time faculty in the nine colleges in the LACCD. A total of 439 surveys were returned, for a 43.9% response rate. Study findings included the…

Presented are the results of a questionnaire completed by 467 teachers from 32 states who teach English at the elementary school, secondary school, and college or university level. The questionnaire elicited information concerning teacher morale, critical issues facing the profession, the mood of teachers, and teacher curriculum interests and…

Written to shed light on the unique recruitment and retention problems faced by rural and small school districts, this booklet also presents strategies to address these problems. Among problems noted in the opening overview are that recruiting and retaining good teachers in rural and small schools is complicated by inadequate pay which does not…

The article describes how a British residential school for hearing-impaired children tackled difficult behavior and became more conscious of its ethos by employing a problem-centered methodology. Problems such as intra-school communication and students' inappropriate social behavior were the focus of a teacher workshop and resultant task groups.…