Approach suggested by this article calls for the creation of two new roles--those of training specialist and extension educational specialist--who, from their school district and university bases, respectively, would act as educational change agents. (Author/CB)

Performance contracting is sometimes expensive and not necessarily successful. Opportune school university programs as evidenced by the Atlanta public Schools project mean utilizing the combined resources to provide optimum in educational opportunities. (DS)

Describes a comprehensive staff development program for secondary teachers incorporating workshop sessions, peer observation, post-observation conferences, and classroom experimentation. Discusses the selection of classroom management, instructional activity sequencing, and teacher expectations as training topics and comments on training process…

Outlines the content and training methods used in the Program for Effective Teaching (PET), the successful staff development program of Newport News (Virginia). PET promotes application of five instructional skills: selecting learning objectives, teaching to the objectives, establishing learner focus, monitoring learner progress, and enhancing…

To upgrade inservice training, teachers take the lead in creating and offering the kind of training their colleagues need. At the national level, the American Federation of Teachers runs an Education Research and Dissemination Program, featuring research-based practices in areas like math instruction or classroom-management skills. In New York…

This article discusses the Macomb County Teacher Education Council as a relationship between public schools and teacher preparation institutions to ensure continuing improvement in teaching and learning practices. (MK)

Reviewing staff development research, this article focuses on delivery systems and how they affect teacher change and improvement as well as the process of teacher change. Recommendations are made for staff development. (MD)

BET (Beginning and Experienced Teachers) is an acronym for an inservice program for inner city teachers in Buffalo, New York, schools. (DS)

Discusses research on new-teacher induction from the Project on Next Generation of Teachers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Describes three types of school-based professional cultures: veteran-oriented, novice-oriented, and integrated. Emphasizes the importance of organized onsite, ongoing support for new teachers. (PKP)

Describes a "thinking strand" in social studies instruction in a New Jersey school district. An inservice training program enables teachers to apply critical thinking skills in the classroom, actively engaging students through the use of debates, case studies, and problem-solving activities. (TE)

Excerpts from a few of the many papers submitted for inclusion in this issue. (Author/MLF)

In Florida, a legislatively mandated funding program supports statewide staff development efforts, which are primarily school-based. (Author)

Presents suggestions for developing meaningful changes in social studies curriculum and reviews past educational social studies programs. (RK)

The nominal group process, if used when assessing staff development needs, can improve the staff development program by bringing into the open factors inhibiting change. (Author/JM)

Research on adult learning suggests that direct and concrete experiences where the learner applies what is being learned are an essential ingredient for in-service education. Abstract, word-oriented talk sessions are not adequate to change behaviors. (Author/MLF)