A research project used critical incident technique to investigate the expertise of staff development leaders in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Problems inherent in such analyses are considered and the methodology briefly outlined. Interviewees' conceptions of their professional learning and the basis of their expertise are…

The purpose of this paper was to determine faculty perceptions about the role a department chair does and should play in a faculty member's movement toward tenure. A group of 485 full-time, tenured, and tenure-track faculty from 13 U.S. doctorate-granting universities participated in the study. Answers to the following questions were solicited:…

This practicum report addressed the problem of role ambiguity in regard to effective utilization of special education staff within the regular fourth grade classroom and the need for support for the regular teacher working with special education students. The researcher, a special educator, conducted the following activities: (1) presented an…

This study examined the relationship between leader power and the amount of conflict with teachers' perceptions of their empowerment. Drawing from the literature, the study identified underlying dimensions of empowerment as teachers' involvement in decision making, and teacher impact, status, autonomy, opportunities for professional development,…

The efforts of the teacher education program at Northern Michigan University (NMU) to improve the education of teachers in field settings are described, using criteria of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) related to field experience programs. The paper discusses how the NCATE criteria are met or exceeded through…

This study was conducted to determine and examine the understandings and misunderstandings of members of student teaching triads composed of student teachers, cooperating teachers, and university supervisors. These understandings relate to what is perceived to be important in the student teaching experience, and who should be most responsible for…

Questions presented in workbook format are interspersed with quotations from the literature about the library profession's stereotypes and self-image. The document opens with a synopsis of how librarians are portrayed by the mass media. Exercises about role perceptions are presented (e.g., define the terms "librarian" and…

This paper explores the mutual process by which a principal and teachers in an urban elementary school develop the principal's leadership. Data were collected for this research throughout a principal's first year through systematic observations (shadowing) of the principal; semi-structured interviews with teachers, administrators, parents, school…

The role of the college student union is discussed in this review of what makes a union successful. It is suggested that the truly successful one combines the concepts of unifying force, common meeting ground, and community in order to educate as well as generate revenue. Issues considered include: hiring and training employees; competition with…

This workbook on life planning, the first in a series of three vocational career orientation self-developmental units, was designed for use at the junior high school level. Explained first are the goals of the series of workbooks, their structure, and the nature and scope of the activities provided in them. The second section consists of specific…

One of the most difficult tasks business and professional communication teachers face is teaching students to appreciate cultural differences and their effects on business communication, both domestically and internationally. Students from a homogeneous background may dismiss or disparage cultural differences. Some classroom exercises can help…

Research has shown that girls and boys begin at equal levels of performance in mathematics and science, but that during the middle school years differences have been observed in both science achievement and science attitudes of males and females. It appears that once science becomes an option for females, they often do not select science…

This study explores the development of a beginning teacher's practical knowledge as expressed in her reflections on her actions during her first year of teaching. The view of practical knowledge constructed by Elbaz (1983) and extended by Clandinin (1986) forms the conceptual basis of the work, allied with the concept of reflection-in-action…

A technique for studying how parents think, make decisions, and solve childrearing problems, Computer-Presented Social Interactions (CPSI), is described. Two studies involving CPSI are presented. The first study concerns a common parental cognitive task: causal analysis of an undesired behavior. The task was to diagnose the cause of non-contingent…

Designed for integration into existing school curriculum, this is the fourth in a series of five career education curriculum kits for teachers of grades K-3. Each kit pertains to one of five specified career education program goals. The goal for this curriculum kit is, "Develop skills in decision-making, communicating, and creating as related to…