In this 2-year study, the assumptions and methods of role theory were employed to guide the description and analysis of instructional leadership among secondary school principals. This paper reports selected findings from the first year's work--a focused ethnographic study of instructional leadership patterns in five secondary schools--based on…

The background, responsibilities, supervision, preparation, and perceived needs of teaching assistants (TAs) from a representative group of research institutions across the country were studied. The National Graduate Teaching Assistant/Associate Survey was developed through voluntary cooperation of eight public and private research institutions…

This study was conducted, using the Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) Form 1, to determine if there were significant differences in the supervisory behaviors of secondary school principals, secondary vocational directors, and community college academic deans as these supervisory behaviors were perceived by the teachers in these…

The goals of an intervention study of formal reading instruction were to encourage teachers to incorporate more direct teaching of comprehension, to maintain a more equitable balance between time devoted to word recognition instruction and time devoted to comprehension instruction, to promote independent level reading, and to minimize the amount…

This research project was undertaken to investigate, analyze, and document the process of implementing a new policy of teacher supervision and evaluation in the five secondary schools of Lethbridge (Alberta) School District No. 51. The study focused on (1) critical stages in the implementation process; (2) supervisory behavior and supervisory…

This report has been prepared as a summary of an indepth study of the implementation of a policy of teacher supervision and evaluation in the secondary schools of Lethbridge (Alberta) School District No. 51. The new policy provided for the development of staff models of supervision in each school and a systemwide teacher evaluation process. The…

Research has shown that the induction period is the most crucial time of a teacher's career. Characteristics of teachers who demonstrate an open, lively, and continuous desire to learn are quite different from those of teachers who remain static after their beginning years. In interviews, four experienced teachers were asked about initial…

This study concerns student teachers' views of the behavior of supervisors during the school practice periods in two Finnish Teachers' Colleges. It is divided into four parts. In part one, the structure of the behavior of supervisors as assessed by student teachers is analyzed, and the concepts used to describe the behavior are defined. Part two…

This study determines some of the competencies a public school teacher should possess before being assigned a student teacher. Subjects in the study included a random sample of unversity faculty who supervise secondary student teachers, student teacher placement directors in public school districts, principals of secondary schools, and teachers in…

Presents results of a study developing an informal social skills teacher rating scale for use with early adolescents. Reports that the scale includes skill identification and situational analysis. Provides information on identifying and ranking responses and checking a content validity and reliability. Concludes that the matrix can generate…

A survey of 208 teachers/graduate students at a Georgia university found that teachers regarded their principals' supervisory behaviors positively. The supervisory climate was more positive in elementary than secondary schools. More experienced and educated teachers were more dissatisfied with their principals' level of trust and decision making.…

Field experience has long been considered a valuable component to the professional development of prospective teachers. This paper describes a program to determine whether consistent training and support of the participants in supervised field experiences would impact the overall achievement of prospective teachers and increase each participant's…

This paper reports on an element of a long term research project on the development of a conceptual framework for the training of mentors of beginning teachers. Three aspects are being investigated: (1) mentors' perceptions about mentoring; (2) the relation between mentors' perceptions and their actions in practice; and (3) the effect of mentoring…

Headteachers in the United Kingdom face the challenge of acting as both the main strategic planner for the whole school and as the leading professional practitioner within it. This paper describes how general changes in the occupational characteristics of school headteachers have been contingently interpreted in a large urban primary school in…

The Inland Empire (California) Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Project (IE-BTSA) is intended to develop and implement assessment strategies designed for beginning teachers. The IE-BTSA program includes three major assessments used throughout the beginning teachers' induction year: a classroom observation, a learning journal, and a teacher…