There has been an excellent series of formative articles centring on Bernard Stiegler (1952-2020) as an inspiration to pedagogical thought; this is a summative article written from the perspective of after his death. Stiegler argued that education is ontologically crucial to human development, wherein "technics" or the…

In this commentary, the 3 review papers by Reynolds et al. (this issue), Muijs et al. (this issue), and Hopkins, Stringfield, Harris, Stoll, and Mackay (this issue) on "educational effectiveness", "teaching effectiveness", and "school and system improvement" are discussed. In the text, the 3 papers are occasionally…

Since the break up of the USSR, its former republics have seen the emergence and rapid expansion of an examinations industry that was, to all intents and purposes, unknown in Soviet times. New national assessment agencies have been established and been charged with, amongst other things, developing high-stakes exams to replace the diverse and…

Purpose: New approaches to extension service delivery are needed that stimulate increased agricultural production, contribute to collective action and which also foster the emergence of agricultural innovation systems. Research in Peru and Mexico explores some of these new approaches. Design/methodology/approach: In both countries, a qualitative…

With seemingly fewer highly functional families, society is demanding schools that accomplish the impossible--higher standards and higher success rates. The current educational system cannot accomplish the impossible. The solution for the desired higher standards and higher success rates is not more programs or more technology. It is systems…

Discusses the need to learn how to design learning systems involving the synthesis of systems thinking and design actions. Design intelligence is considered, based on theories of multiple intelligence; new models of the information age that require systems design are discussed; and the roles of symbolic analysts and symbolic synthesists are…

The field of instructional technology has continued to evolve since its inception in the early 1900s. Academic technology units in higher education have witnessed tremendous change in the last one and a half decades. The changes have led to reorganizations, realignments, adoption of innovative administrative structures, increased demands for…

Provides an overview of this special issue on educational systems design. The International Systems Institute (ISI), a nonprofit agency that contributed the issue, is described; and summaries of the papers are presented, organized according to major themes covered (i.e., conceptual models and issues, design applications, and design learning). (LRW)

Explores the concepts of culture and design to characterize design culture, i.e., a pattern of behavior that integrates design thinking, language, principles, and methods. The importance of the development of a design culture is discussed, including design literacy and design competence, and implications for the educational community are…

Discusses conceptual frameworks for the designing process, including conclusion-oriented design and decision-oriented design; describes the systemic quality cube of design that incorporates process, product, efficiency, and effectiveness and considers total, global, and systemic quality; and discusses present applications, including computerized…

Describes the systems approach (the Information-Based School Development Project) used by a large education system in Australia for school review and development, involving a research and a service component to help schools identify, obtain, and organize information they need for their own decision-making. Relates two case studies. (SR)

Examines the issue of community involvement in reformulating educational systems. Historical perspectives on community involvement in schools are reviewed; the roles of community members in educational settings and in educational systems design settings are discussed; and experiences from fieldwork observing community participation are related.…

Reviews books considered to advance methodological and conceptual issues pertinent to comparative and historical educational research. (Author/DB)

Focuses on two mental activities--reflection and metaphor--that can be used with communication to facilitate changes in an educational system. Discusses two contexts in which they are being used: (1) in individual thinking and writing; and (2) as part of a facilitated group activity. (AEF)

Compares educational technology and information systems (IS) and relates the histories of their adoption. Explains IS adoption paradigms, models and frameworks, and suggests similarities and differences between IS adoption/implementation and educational change; and discusses educational change and what can be learned from IS adoption models.…