A university governing board's influence on institutional policy is undeniable. Educating board members about student affairs issues is essential to ensuring a well-informed, effective board. This study examined the relationship between student affairs and the board's student affairs committee (SAC). An 89-item survey was developed and…

In 1989, the delegate assembly of the Council for Exceptional Children began the process of developing standards of knowledge and skills for all beginning teachers of special education, including teachers of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Now in its third major revision, these standards provide guidance to states' departments of…

Schools and districts invest a great deal of time and money in professional development for teachers through instructional coaching. With this effort comes the responsibility to design coaching programs that have the greatest potential to improve classroom instruction and, in turn, increase student learning. What research is available to help…

This Guide provides basic information to South Carolina employers regarding the nature of college degrees. It covers South Carolina law regarding the use of degrees, how to accurately describe degree needs when advertising for a position, how to evaluate a job applicant's claim of a degree, the growing problem of diploma mill degrees, and related…

Tasks provide a framework for communicative performance. Underlying each task is a set of learning opportunities--potential activities for learning. Not all of these opportunities are exploited for learning by teachers or learners. It is proposed that, when using tasks, the range of such learning opportunities needs to be identified and modelled…

Teacher preparation programs can play an essential role in disseminating information on children's mental health and design curricula that teach the skills necessary for promoting good mental health in schools to preservice and inservice professionals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. The strategies presented in this article will provide…

The development of European Community administrative authority has greatly influenced the development of an evaluation culture among the southern and central member states of the European Union. The present case study from Spain provides an example of this diffusion through the use of an empowerment evaluation approach to build evaluation capacity…

The Finnish vocational education and training system underwent remarkable transformations at the turn of the century. One of the biggest changes was introducing compulsory and guided on-the-job learning periods in all study programmes. In this article students' experiences of on-the-job learning and in particular of integrating school-based and…

In light of recent developments in educational policy and the positioning of vocational education and training (VET) across the European Union, it was timely to explore these new directions and the lessons for Australian VET. A striking feature both in the European Union and Australia is the wide scope of issues that governments are addressing and…

The research evidence suggests that strong instructional leaders greatly can impact teaching and learning. There also is increasing recognition that instructional coaches can play an effective role in improving classroom-level practices. A natural way for school leaders to take on the role of instructional leader is to serve as a "chief" coach for…

To examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the scales on the "Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-Third Edition" [DIAL-3; Mardell-Czudnowski, C., and Goldenberg, D.S. (1998). "Developmental indicators for the assessment of learning-third edition." Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service,…

Engines, in their many forms and functions, have had a tremendous impact on society and the environment. It is hard for the contemporary student to fathom a world without trains, cars, trucks, powerboats, and airplanes. With the fascination, history, impacts, and importance of engines to modern society, it is only natural that engine technology…

Communities of practice (COPs) are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better through interacting with one another (Wenger 1998). Communities of practice have enormous potential to support and sustain quality care and education within a community and, in fact, are doing so. Businesses and…

In May 1997 and March 1998, the Midwest Center for Postsecondary Outreach, in conjunction with St. Paul Technical College, hosted a video teleconference in which four other professionals and the authors appeared. Although they answered some of the questions submitted, due to time constraints, they were unable to respond to a number of the…

In an effort to safeguard the learning environment, school administrators generally rely on district or local school guidelines and professional judgment. With new technology, the proliferation of drug use, and increased school violence, schools have become a complex environment to manage for both system and local leadership. Administrators are…