A newsletter addresses the issues school administrators should consider in planning and implementing the use of microcomputers in their schools. Described are ways in which microcomputers will change management, the variety of ways computers can be used in educational administration, classroom activities using computer-based instruction, criteria…

Factors reported to be important in the design, implementation, and evaluation of professional development programs for department chairs are described. Attention is also directed to results from a goal-focused evaluation of the 6-year-old program to train new department heads in the nine state universities of Florida, a program that is being…

This analysis reports on the plans for special education personnel development by those states submitting fourth year applications under Part H of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (1986). The eight states--Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, and Texas--used a variety of approaches…

Because school administrators, particularly superintendents and their top level management staffs, occupy such critical roles in the nation's schools, guidelines for their training and preparation must be systematically and periodically reexamined. The purpose of this guide, the first in a series of three, is to help those persons involved in the…

This document offers three articles reporting research and practice on the use of paraeducators to provide support to students with disabilities and their teachers. Emphasis is on research funded by the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. The first article notes the increasing use of paraeducators to provide…

Recent studies have verified Secretary of Education William Bennett's observation on the importance of home and family life. The most successful students are those whose parents become actively engaged in the educational process at home and at school. To capitalize on potential parent involvement, principals need to understand the kinds of…

Educational change is viewed in Australia as a series of events involving four components: the decision to change, the announcement of the change, inservice activities oriented to the change, and informal support activities. Research in the U.S., however, indicates that change is a highly personal process undergone first by individuals and only…

The U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to privacy that requires deputies and jailers to avoid the unnecessary disclosure of sensitive information about a person. This privacy right especially covers Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome-related (AIDS) information, and it even protects the immediate family of persons infected with human…

Included in this newletter are the following titles: AACTE Responds to PL 94-142 in National Workshop; Public Law 94-142: A Call for a Profession with Values; Deans' Grants Institutions Initiate Change; and Organizational Perspectives: PL 94-142 and Inservice Personnel Development. References are provided. (DS)

This manual presents a taxonomy for the classification of elementary school mathematics content and provides training in the use of that taxonomy. The taxonomy is designed to classify the content of various curricular materials as well as the content of actual classroom instruction. Three factors are used to define the taxonomy: (1) general…

An examination of literature in the field of staff development reveals five models of inservice for principals. The traditional model involves enrolling in courses at colleges and universities. Institutes are short-term specific learning experiences. Competency-based training identifies knowledge and skills needed and focuses on influencing…

Five selections summarize training methods for the principalship from the perspective that cognizance of the complexities of being a principal arises from practice, thus experiential learning should be incorporated into preservice and inservice training programs. The first selection, "Making Sense of Principals' Work," by Kent Petersen, is a…

The impact and effectiveness of various faculty development programs is the focus of this report from the Association of American Colleges. Twenty faculty development programs around the country are examined. Faculty development is defined in this study as all activities designed to improve the performance of faculty as teachers, scholars,…

The articles in this feature or theme issue describe successful approaches to positive, community-based management of severe challenging behavior. Programs include: a train-the-trainer strategy for inservice training used across the country; the use of student volunteers as community integration facilitators; a school-based intervention project…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on the training of practitioners to work with infants, toddlers, and their families with emphasis on the activities of the TASK (Training Approaches for Skills and Knowledge) Project of the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs. The TASK project addresses the concerns of four "stakeholder" groups:…