Findings of a study that examined Chicago teachers' opinions about school reform, the quality of their schools, and their perspectives on instruction and its improvement are presented in this paper. A survey mailed to 12,708 Chicago public elementary school teachers in late May and June of 1991 elicited an overall response rate of 70 percent.…

This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the supply and demand of school administrators in Nebraska and their levels of job satisfaction. Methodology included: (1) an analysis of Nebraska Department of Education data sets; (2) three different surveys each of 100 teachers and 100 school administrators; and (3) a questionnaire of…

A study examined the impact of work teams on production, quality, and morale within the State of Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, using data from fiscal years 1992 and 1993 when a change from a hierarchical organization to a team-based approach took place in the agency. Production was defined as the percentage of placements achieved…

This document contains the following 26 papers presented at the first Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) Conference: "Management as a Service to Internal Customers" (Antonioni); "Developing Texas State Agency Executives for the Learning Organizations" (Bales); "How Executive Businesswomen Develop and Function in…

This report discusses evaluation as required under the Department of Education rules and regulations for the National Workplace Literacy Program (NWLP). It is intended to help workplace literacy programs meet the requirements of the rules and regulations governing the NWLP so that the Department of Education can determine the value of programs.…

In 1988 the Collective Bargaining Forum, a private group of labor and business leaders, adopted a statement of principles recognizing that the institution of collective bargaining is an integral part of economic life in the United States. The purpose of the statement was to facilitate the spread of positive relations between labor and management…

A set of propositions surrounding the gender issue within organizations is identified in this paper along with research propositions which have implications for future research. The paper's major thesis is that career development is best understood when work attitudes and behaviors are related to overall evaluation systems which result in…

This document traces the U.S. labor movement's history, documents its achievements, and describes its goals. The labor movement played a central role in the elevation of the U.S. standard of living through benefits negotiated by unions, such as vacations with pay, pensions, health and welfare protection, and grievance and arbitration procedures.…

Examines the impact of underutilizing workers' educational skills (or "overeducation") on a firm's productivity. Using both production and individual employee data, the study estimated a production function for 22 U.S. Bell companies during 1981-1982. Overeducation was negatively and significantly related to firm output. Discusses…

Two challenges to "Equal pay for equal work" are subminimum wages and workfare. There is no evidence that either two-tiered wage system would permanently increase employment. Instead the results may be (1) less union strength; (2) lower wages in general; (3) layoff of workers in the higher tiers; and (4) more discrimination against Black youth.…

Ethnographic and survey research provide a comprehensive picture of experiences in racially mixed schools. Findings are presented and analyzed from desegregated schools, colleges, and places of employment. Major implications are that desegregation is best when started in early grades and, for blacks, school desegregation is significantly related…

Reports on an assessment of a sample of environmental health practitioners in Illinois which dealt with overall job satisfaction and the characteristics that contribute to job satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Results indicated that 36 percent of the respondents were satisfied with their jobs, with 64 percent somewhat dissatisfied. (TW)

Chaos theory provides a useful mental model for guiding change as leaders garner the energy from unpredictable events for realizing transformation goals. The paper considers chaos theory as a framework for managing school change toward Total Quality Management work cultures. Change is possible to manage when plans are made and then followed by a…

Underlying barriers to adjunct faculty forming effective communities are time and distance; they spend little time on campus, and there is distance, physically and psychologically, from their peers. There can be no hope of challenging and changing the system without the organizing and focusing of energies. Lessons can be learned from big business.…

In many of the stories foretelling the future of work, technology is assumed to be the irresistible driver of change. Both ends of the spectrum are foreseen: either technology will create new jobs and transform existing work to higher skill levels, or technology, especially information technology, will destroy jobs or degrade them into less…