Numerous studies indicate that student learning is directly linked to the quality of teaching that occurs in the classroom. School boards can play a vital role in staff development. They should adopt standards for student learning, teaching, leadership, and staff development. Adequate funding and an incentive system that rewards improvements in…

Reviews the factors that any teacher motivation plan must incorporate to be effective and outlines 11 principles that should be followed in designing career ladder plans to meet teacher needs, increase teacher competence, and facilitate effective instruction. Warns against potential pitfalls in career ladder plans. (PGD)

Describes a four-year-old program that provides voluntary weekend teacher inservice training workshops. Teachers have eagerly been attending the workshops run by the University of Alabama and a consortium of a dozen school districts. (MD)

Proposes groundwork for a coalition to address environmental education (EE) policies and practices in America for the next decade. Aims, priorities, and needs for the coalition are listed. They include upgrading competence of environmental educators, improving student experiences in EE, increasing EE literacy of citizens, and identifying key…

Proposes the use of teacher sabbaticals to improve the quality of teachers. Includes a list of recommendations for implementing a sabbatical policy. (MD)

Attitudes about teacher sabbaticals are sharply divided and, as funding grows scarcer, get more controversial. Teachers should plan sabbaticals that will improve their teaching, and school boards should be assured of good, long-term returns on their investments of sabbaticals. (MLF)

This paper critiques England's teacher in-service training program, called Grants for Education, Support and Training (GEST.) The paper notes that funding is only available for national priority areas and argues that the impact of this approach is leading to a lack of necessary training for special education teachers. (JDD)

Described is a computer network at the University of Houston known as MacLAN. It was designed to support the instructional program of the College of Education. Included is the information on how the network was organized, what was learned, and recommendations for similar efforts. (TW)

Teacher evaluation can be used as a tool in school improvement. Principal inconstancy, insufficient time and resources, and lack of evaluating skills are some difficulties in teacher evalution. The use of evaluation as a means of professional development is discussed. (DF)

This paper describes five key trends in the ways the rules for education are changing, the potential implications of the changes, and challenges for those promoting school health education. (SM)

Finds fault with federal and local attempts to improve and influence the teaching profession. Points out that federal and professional standards are fruitless or counterproductive in the absence of local organizations that can apply them in the classroom. (DR)

Criticizes reports on educational reform for possessing an ideological climate in which inquiry and dissent are quieted, and vocationalism (packaged as academic courses) is rampant. The reports compromise between influence and insight and neglect fundamental problems such as inability of schools to provide students with critical abilities needed…

Analyzes trends in educational reforms in the context of conflicting needs for both educational excellence and equal access to education. Discusses the difficulty of balancing these demands in the preparation of school personnel and in school reform through choice programs. (FMW)

Discusses the implications of five-year teacher preparation programs. Argues that different strategies and curricula should be tested and evaluated before mandating major system-wide changes in teacher certification requirements. (FMW)

Describes the Open University (OU) Physics for Science Teachers project. Explains how distance-learning packages are to be studied. Identifies the audience that the program will address. Discusses the reasons why this program can be successful. Suggests that their program is part of a wider program to improve science teaching. (CW)