This volume is a collection of eight short articles that address fundamental issues of staff development in programs for young children. Part I covers supervisory principles and techniques, indicates environmental areas in which child care personnel have not been prepared to intervene effectively (Bronfenbrenner's exo and macro system levels),…

The primary function of classroom supervision is to effect changes in teacher behavior that will result in improved instructional skill. Among the problems associated with supervision are lack of time, lack of specific supervisory techniques, and poor interpersonal relations. Some observational techniques available for supervisors to employ are…

The manual directs Project Skill trainers in providing supervisors with concepts and methods of training mildly retarded and/or emotionally disturbed workers to perform at or above the minimum level expected of all a firm's employees. The role of the trainer using this manual is to set up and conduct activities which will provoke supervisors to…

A review of the research literature on goal-setting in organizational settings reveals that goal-setting on an individual job results in better task performance. However, the processes behind their effectiveness is unclear. For example, how are various job attributes of task goals related to performance, and how do various individual differences…

The major purpose of this literature review is to determine what is known about a) prevailing patterns of interaction between leaders and other adults in public schools and b) conditions under which specific patterns of behavior of leaders are connected with variations in the behavior of other people in the school. A second objective is to find…

This volume contains the recommendations for improving English supervision which were formulated at the USOE Conference of Supervisors of English. James R. Squire discusses the present state of supervisory procedures and inservice teacher education, and Helen F. Olson reports the findings of the 1962 National Council of Teachers of English Survey…

Provides a model for a collegial support system--an alternative to administrator-conducted supervision of teachers--that allows administrators to move from a directive to a supportive role with teachers. (JW)

A study examined management practices of general and special education teachers and therapists who work with paraeducators in K-12 inclusive classrooms. Surveys focusing on the actual and ideal performance of 27 specified supervisory tasks were completed by 369 general and special education teachers and therapists from 12 school districts, 11 of…

Supervision by circular letters is essential in most counties. The size of the territory to be covered makes frequent visits on the part of the county superintendent an impossibility. Many superintendents have no supervisors or field deputies and have only occasional office help. In such cases circular letters are the most valuable means of…

Presents basic assumptions and a brief overview of conventional monocratic administrative theories, then contrasts it with the alternative collegial style. Demonstrates the need for training in the alternative style by reviewing studies showing improved teaching environment and student learning as a result of this approach. (JAC)

Various views of clinical supervision are analyzed and examined. The "process" definition of clinical supervision emphasizes an eight-step cycle of supervision. Clinical supervision as "concept" is also considered and seven conceptual elements are examined. (JN)

Both the postpositivistic (Ellis, Ladany, Krengel, and Schult, 1996; Ladany, Hill, Corbett, and Nutt, 1996) and interpretive (Neufeldt, Karno, and Nelson, 1996; Worthen and McNeill, 1996) studies in this special section on supervision research are reviewed from the perspective of rigor and relevancy to the critical questions facing educators and…

Researchers investigated the use of a one-way mechanical third ear communication device that allows prompting by the student teachers' supervisors during teaching. Results showed that some student teachers can and do effect immediate change in teaching behavior during the teaching process while receiving prompts via the device. (SM)

Effective supervision of student teachers has become a growing concern for teacher educators due to the increased emphasis placed on field experience in teacher preparation programs. Lacking an effective means of providing intervention, feedback, and reinforcement during the process, supervisors, both cooperating teachers and university based…

Pedagogical correctness "is characterized by a set of 'right' and often avant-garde beliefs about how the curriculum and schools should be structured." When supervisors avoid supervisory methods that are considered not "pedagogically correct" or fail to adopt practices considered incorrect, instructional improvement is likely to be compromised.…