A frequent criticism of education in the United States today is that teachers are not challenging and teaching students to think beyond the simple task of recalling information. In response to this criticism, during the school year of 1986-1987, the Delaware Department of Public Instruction and local school districts provided a staff development…

This paper describes a successful facilitator training model, developed as part of an Adult Basic/Continuing Education (AB/CE) staff development program in Minnesota. The following topics are included: (1) the new basics and what is taught in the Minnesota AB/CE programs; (2) how these new basics are taught, emphasizing Malcolm Knowles' model of…

Approaches to faculty evaluation to assist departmental chairs who have no formal background in personnel administration are discussed. Stages in the development and maintenance of performance appraisals for instructors are considered, including a written position guide, a performance planning conference, a performance appraisal procedure, a…

This document contains a summary of environmental education efforts in the public school systems of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For each of the states or territories contact persons, addresses, phone numbers, and a summary of projects or environmental education initiatives at the elementary and secondary levels are…

Discussions about the social responsibility of businesses have led to questions about the social responsibility of academic institutions. As governmental support of community activities appears to be lessening, activities by educational institutions in support of local communities becomes more essential. New developments in the linkage between…

New trends for visual, musical, and theatrical arts are described in this report, which is arranged into seven brief sections. The first section reports on the trend to integrate the arts into the secondary academic curriculum (a kind of mainstreaming). Specific efforts directed toward mainstreaming at the local, state, and national levels are…

The roles and responsibilities of state, local, and the federal government are described in this paper on the organization of American education. Explanations are provided of how education in America is primarily a state and local responsibility and representative models of this system of organization are described. In terms of the federal…

This manual was developed for use by the personnel of the New Jersey state department of education to provide technical assistance to local, state, and federal bilingual education and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) projects in the state. It contains seven training modules, each consisting of a reproducible workshop packet with procedures for…

Analyzed was the effectiveness of communications practices used between a sample of 141 directors of special education in Tennessee and "involved others," which included 141 school board chairpersons, 141 superintendents, 48 other central office program directors, 48 principals, 48 regular education teachers, 48 special education teachers, 48…

This statement includes the Council of Chief State School Officer's (CCSSO) position on the international dimensions of education and presents a series of proposed action steps. The international dimensions of education are fourfold: (1) the capacity to communicate in languages other than English; (2) understanding of other nations, cultures, and…

This handbook provides resources for curriculum directors and other instructional leaders in Georgia school systems to assist in reviewing, evaluating, and updating their instructional programs. The first section lists the various roles of the central office instructional leader, presents a model of the domains of instructional supervision, and…

The use of exit surveys at the University of Washington was investigated. Objectives were to identify (1) how many departments or programs employed department-generated exit surveys to gather information from graduating students, (2) the type of information collected and its use by departments, and (3) criteria for determining the usefulness of an…

An informal national survey of new efforts in foreign language education undertaken by the Joint National Committee for Languages revealed that 12 states had made significant progress, another 13 states showed positive movement, and 12 had concluded studies, reports, and/or recommendations that may yield some results. Six had studies in progress,…

This guide provides assistance to New Mexico school districts in implementing a state-sponsored teacher performance evaluation plan (Provision III of the New Mexico Staff Accountability Plan, adopted by the State Board of Education). This plan involves five basic procedures: (1) determine specific definitions of the six essential teaching…

Recommendations for chairs of college-level foreign language departments include: being supportive of the department; communicating fully and openly with faculty and staff; promoting grantsmanship; and encouraging staff and faculty. Recommendations for deans working with chairs and department heads include: consulting frequently and communicating…