The purpose of this study is to describe the variability of principals' classroom observations across schools and to relate classroom observations to the schools' instructional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to describe the variability of principals' classroom observations across schools and to relate classroom observations to the schools' instructional climate. This helps identify the conditions under which classroom observations effectively improve instruction in some schools and not in other schools.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the study are from surveys from principals (n=319) and teachers (n=15,818) matched to administrative data on principals and schools. Data are analyzed using factor analysis, latent class analysis, and regression.
Findings
There is no evidence that the frequency, duration, or instructional focus of classroom observations varies across schools with different student demographic characteristics or student performance levels. There is also no evidence that the frequency or duration of conducting classroom observations relates to the instructional climate of the school. However, there is evidence that conducting observations with a focus on instructional improvement relates to the instructional climate of the school after controlling for school and principal characteristics. These findings suggest variability in the implementation of classroom observations.
Originality/value
The paper provides useful information to guide the preparation and support of principals in order to use classroom observations most effectively for improving instructional opportunities.
Details
Keywords
Linda Klimczyk and Marsha Tate
Describes Penn State University Library′s use of the OCLC CAT MEand CAT ME Plus for batch searching at off‐peak hours to resolveovercrowding of OCLC dedicated terminals…
Abstract
Describes Penn State University Library′s use of the OCLC CAT ME and CAT ME Plus for batch searching at off‐peak hours to resolve overcrowding of OCLC dedicated terminals. Summarises the CAT ME and CAT ME Plus functions used, time savings calculations, and searching techniques. Concludes that CAT ME and CAT ME Plus have enabled maximum efficiency from dedicated OCLC terminals, more efficient use of staff time and have become an invaluable tool for bibliographic searching.
Details
Keywords
Marsha A. Dickson and Mary A. Littrell
The purpose of this study was to examine whether consumers' intentions to purchase apparel products from an alternative trading organisation (ATO; an example of socially…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine whether consumers' intentions to purchase apparel products from an alternative trading organisation (ATO; an example of socially responsible consumer behaviour) could be explained by their societally‐centred values and attitudes, as well as attitudes more specifically related to purchasing. Data were collected with a nationwide mail survey of US consumers (n =344) randomly drawn from the stratified mailing list of one North American ATO. Theory‐based relationships, suggesting a hierarchical system of effects among values and atti‐tudes, were tested and supported with path analysis. Comparison of two different path models revealed that attitude towards the behaviour of purchasing apparel from the ATO was a better predictor of purchase behaviour than was attitude towards the apparel itself; however, the two concepts were determined to each contribute valuable information for understanding purchasing behaviour.
Details
Keywords
Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our…
Abstract
Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our profession precisely because its roots and implications extend far beyond the confines of just one service discipline. Its reflection is mirrored in national debates about the proper spheres of the public and private sectors—in matters of information generation and distribution, certainly, but in a host of other social ramifications as well, amounting virtually to a debate about the most basic values which we have long assumed to constitute the very framework of our democratic and humanistic society.
Davenport Group Formed: Common Format for Online Documentation and Publication Systems. A group of over thirty UNIX system vendors, software vendors, and book publishers has…
Abstract
Davenport Group Formed: Common Format for Online Documentation and Publication Systems. A group of over thirty UNIX system vendors, software vendors, and book publishers has formed the Davenport Group in response to the need for a standardized interchange format for computer documentation. The Davenport Group will focus on the establishment of a common interchange format among publishers and UNIX system vendors.
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with orientation to library facilities and services, instruction in the use of information resources, and research and…
Abstract
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with orientation to library facilities and services, instruction in the use of information resources, and research and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the fifteenth to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1988. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.
“Public librarians are not interested in collection development issues.”