Problems and challenges faced by beginning teachers have been well documented in the literature and have created the need for teacher induction programs in all disciplines, including agricultural education. This paper used literature from inside and outside the agricultural education discipline to identify and describe best practices in teacher…

A comprehensive research project conducted by the Community College Section of the National Communication Association (NCA) investigated the status of communication education in U.S. community colleges. Contacts from 290 public community colleges in the U.S. responded to a survey targeting five areas of inquiry: (a) institutional, (b)…

The purpose of The Arizona Long-Range Strategic Educational Technology Plan is to map the future of the "education support systems" necessary for Arizona's children to succeed in today's world. The plan details goals and strategies for policy makers, the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, Institutions of Higher…

The speech communication department chair's most important function involves creating a healthy departmental climate for professional growth and development. While the department chair must be able to recognize and accept the fact that some faculty members cannot or will not improve their performance, there are still four principles he or she can…

The role of academic chairpersons in the management of academic departments in Beijing, The People's Republic of China, is described. After a brief overview of social and political changes in China since 1949, the college teaching profession in China is discussed in terms of workload, salary, living conditions, the lack of individual choice in…

A report prepared as background material for the 1971 workshop for new chairmen of graduate departments of psychology focuses on financial concerns. It is suggested that with disappearing grant support, universities will have to pick up the salaries of faculty members. Programs such as minority group studies will generate fiscal demands that will…

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate some of the significant factors that relate to the effectiveness of the geographer and departments of geography in developing the important role that the discipline of geography has to offer to higher education in the United States. Geography must continually be conscious that many administrators, faculty,…

The departmental concept, while widely accepted in the Anglo-Saxon nations as a way to organize educational institutions into homogenous groups, is not used in many continental European countries and elsewhere. This paper analyzes various structures for organizing academic institutions at lower levels in certain national systems, dissects the most…

A four-year program for academic leadership development of department chairpersons is presented as a strategy for institutional renewal. The program has been used successfully with 100 chairpersons, ranging from the various technologies and sciences to the humanities and social sciences. The program is based on three assumptions. First, that the…

The report summarizes questionnaire responses from 454 university department heads concerning information collected in the most recent self-study or review of their department. The responses included judgments about the importance of collecting each information element for (1) internal department use for porgram planning and improvements, (2)…

This annotated bibliography was prepared to aid in an exploration of the ways in which the administrative structure of an institution influences the quality of undergraduate teaching. The specific focus is on the academic department/division and the department/division chair as the crucial administrative unit and administrator. The bibliography…

This study examined an urban school system's secondary English program in light of the recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of English and the Commission on English concerning curriculum, administration, supervision, and organization. Interviews were conducted with the principal, the English department chairman, and one teacher…

Presented are the results of a survey of opinions of state directors of special education on short and long range planning for the efficient delivery of Regional Resource Center (RRC) services to state education agencies (SEAs). Listed among the research questions asked is "What are the opinions of state directors of special education on a number…

College language department heads are encouraged to become proactive in responding to change in higher education by: undertaking departmental planning; ensuring good teaching; emphasizing collegiality; thinking creatively; becoming part of any college restructuring process; identifying allies on campus; staying informed about institutional…

A survey of 32 department heads at Rhodes University (South Africa) found that in just over half the departments, students were given the opportunity to evaluate course content and presentation, and department heads were favorably disposed toward the system. Two issues deemed important in institutionalization of course evaluation were methods for…