To enhance the professional development of teachers and encourage an ongoing climate of innovation and reform, while providing for direct benefits for students, Australia's Schools Commission instituted a program allowing funds for curricular innovation to be granted directly to teachers. Interviews with a random sample of 45 of these grantees,…

A review of the research indicates that the interface between the findings from research on teaching and staff development of teachers is an important but neglected one. An improvement in teaching skills calls for an interactive or collaborative mode of professional development which is based on classroom interests and the needs of teachers, with…

Summarizes two examples of cooperative activities developed in Australia between teachers and teachers and other professionals. Discusses what has been learned from the examples. (YP)

Extended the application of student evaluations of college faculty by using them as the basis for staff development. Staff and student surveys examined each group's priorities for academic and course development. Significant differences were found between the two groups' perceptions. Collaborative student-staff groups developed booklets using…

This report contains reviews of relevant Australian literature and of inservice teacher education programs in Australia and in other countries. The first part of this report describes the origin and objectives of the Western Australian In-Service Teacher Education Project. In the report's second section, trends in the definition of inservice…

This publication contains the final report of the Committee of Enquiry into Education in South Australia, the major task of which was to examine and make recommendations to the Minister of Education on the educational system of South Australia. The report begins with a summary of recommendations. Following this summary, there is a discussion of…

Describes the teacher-scholar program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Contends that the year-long program is an opportunity for professional self-renewal, providing teachers the opportunity to study topics and texts related to the subjects they teach. Includes a list of 24 teacher-scholars for 1994-95. (CFR)

Examines two Australian national teacher professional development projects (the National Schools Network and the Innovative Links Between Schools and Universities project) to illustrate how award restructuring and school reform worked together to enable teachers to reclaim the political ground of teacher professionalism. Both projects promoted…

The absence of a professional career structure for teachers is not a new problem. In 1989, Australian unions, employers, and governments negotiated the Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) classification. Three levels of AST status involving salary increases were proposed to offer teachers a professional career path in teaching comparable in status to…

The effectiveness of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETs) as a means of enhancing university teaching was studied, with emphasis on the multidimensionality of SETs, an Australian version of the Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality instrument (the ASEEQ), and the 1986 feedback/consultation intervention of R. C. Wilson.…

Relevant theory and research are brought to bear on the questions of what administrators can do that makes a difference to student learning, of exactly what principals manage in their role as education leader, and of what knowledge they must have to increase learning in their schools. Conclusions are that principals can improve student achievement…

Evaluated first use of a classroom environment instrument in a Year 1 class. Students responded to both the actual and preferred forms of the inventory. The teacher then implemented selected strategies in a practical attempt to improve the classroom environment in ways preferred by the students. Follow-up assessment indicated that the environment…

Adult Literacy and Basic Education (ALBE) teachers face many challenges as they attempt to reconcile the demands of educational providers, learners, and government agencies with their own values and beliefs about the aims and purposes of literacy. Recent research on ALBE programs was examined from the standpoint of their relationship to the…

This investigation monitored the perceived effectiveness of a professional development program, called Facilitating Effective Learning and Teaching, in improving teacher practice. The program assumes that improvement is likely when the participants understand and value the learning process and themselves as learners and teachers. Program…

The professional development and evaluation of university academic staff members is discussed in an attempt to clarify the processes by which evaluation and professional development activities may become acceptable and helpful. Also presented are the student evaluation of teaching and the interrelationship between evaluation instruments and the…