This project identified work environment factors in eight schools where a teacher preparation program placed early field experience students and where the university students reported experiencing positive field placements. The purpose was to determine the impact of certain variables on teachers' perception of the quality of their own professional…

This paper, one in a series about the priorities of the professoriate, explores some creative employment practices which will stimulate campus discussions of faculty employment policies and practices in four areas: (1) alternative career paths, (2) workload and productivity, (3) peer review, and (4) academic freedom and employment security. In…

Research confirms anecdotal impressions of the following causes of high turnover among both home health and nursing home aides: low wages; inadequate benefits; excessive workloads; poor training, supervision, and working conditions; and job-related stress. Public policy initiatives can dramatically alleviate or exacerbate the crisis among…

The Antelope Valley Union High School District's regional plan for career education and lifelong learning represents a model for educational levels/districts cooperation. The plan provides a bridge from education to careers that takes into consideration changes in the economic marketplace. The career development plan includes elementary, middle,…

This study used focused interviews, participant observations, and document review to identify five organizational and personal factors that 40 teachers (general education, special education, and specialists) in a small rural school district reported as affecting their receptivity to change: (1) the degree to which schools are ready for change; (2)…

This monograph examines issues that will shape teacher education programs in the future. Following a foreword by Robert M. McClure, the monograph is organized into three chapters. The first, "Perestroika and Professionalism: The Case for Restructuring Teacher Preparation" (Linda Darling-Hammond), focuses on changes wrought by school…

The reasons that counselors in resident summer camps return to work are explored, taking into account the differences between private and agency camps, and differing attitudes of male and female camp counselors. A random sample of returning counselors at 15 private and 15 agency camps in the Northeast were selected for the study. Six attitudinal…

The 1980s have been a period during which important private experiments with innovations have occurred in employee participation, work redesign, and the introduction of new technologies and new systems of production. It is now time to move beyond the experimental stage. The following four interrelated policy initiatives should guide public efforts…

This book examines in detail the impact of tiered compensation structures on unions, employers, and employees. (Tiered compensation structures are defined as pay systems in which employees who start working or change jobs in a company after a certain date receive a lower rate of pay than employees who were doing the same or similar jobs before…

Successful workplace literacy programs involve unions. Support for education and training has long been a part of organized labor's history. Current initiatives are an expansion of union interest and activity in this area. Many unions have negotiated significant financial resources for workplace education as a part of collective bargaining…

The high national attrition rate among vocational education teachers (50 percent within 6 years) prompted a study to determine trade and industrial teachers' reasons for leaving and to make recommendations to increase teacher retention. Following a literature review of teachers' motivation and reasons for attrition, interviews were conducted with…

This study examined the lives of 10 individuals with blindness or severe visual impairment who maintained competitive employment despite their vision loss. The study was designed to provide information regarding the personal characteristics and current practices related to work environment alterations which enhance competitive employment…

This study describes and analyzes certain population, labor, and education issues in oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf. The countries profiled are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (also known as the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries). Since the discovery of oil, these countries transformed themselves…

Some new work is good work. Quality is ultimately defined by the individual. However, these perceptions are inevitably colored by the circumstances in which people find themselves, by the time, place, and wide range of motivations for having to do a particular job in the first place. One person's quality may be another's purgatory and vice versa.…

This document provides information on the nature, working conditions, and employment opportunities of 42 industries that accounted for nearly 3 of 4 wage and salary jobs in 1998. The following are among the types of information provided for each industry discussed: (1) nature of the industry (goods produced and services provided, individual…