This essay explores the methodology of a new discipline, system dynamics, as an approach to the analysis of decisions in education. (Author)

The planning of technical education programs often is a complex and involved process. Some kind of planning system helps serve as an effective method of communicating the purpose, procedure, processes, content, time, and cost to those who need this decision-making information. (Flow charts are included.) (Author)

This seventh edition of "Key Data on Education in Europe" retains its main special feature which is the combination of statistical data and qualitative information to describe the organisation and functioning of education systems in Europe. The present 2009 edition maintains the subject-based structure defined by the previous one but…

This paper presents a theoretical study conducted as part of a larger research project concerning personality as an educational phenomenon. In contrast to most approaches, which view personality from the outside, this approach employs systems analysis to examine how individuals identify their personalities in varying subenvironments of a social…

This publication brings together seven papers exemplifying the systems approach to educational decision making. The first discusses the need for inclusion of constituent values in educational decision making strategies to properly apply systems theory concepts. In the second, which addresses systems design for problem solving in schools,…

This paper describes the characteristics and circumstances defining nine decision cases in an effort to provide methodological assistance for practitioners. Each case is examined according to its objectives (single or multiple), resource level (limited or unlimited), time frame (a priori or evaluative), and the nature of desired decisions. In…

From a systems analysis viewpoint, an evaluation system is a subsystem that is superimposed on the educational system to provide information for decisions related to its maintenance and goals. Educational outcomes, viewed as a much broader concept than the traditional view of changes in pupil behavior, represent the starting point for any…

This study attempted to identify the differences in cost-effectiveness analysis methods in order to select the most appropriate one as a decision-assisting aid for instructional management. The study is organized to explore and identify what cost-effectiveness methods are being used, identify and examine the differences among these methods in an…

This paper considers selected aspects of the systems analysis of administrative decisionmaking regarding resource allocations in an educational system. A model of the instructional materials purchase system is presented. The major components of this model are: environment, input, decision process, conversion structure, conversion process, output,…

This speech analyzes the critical ingredients of an objectives-based management system for (1) goal determination--decisions regarding the direction of the educational enterprise; (2) progress monitoring--the formative evaluation of the system's enroute success in attaining its goals; and (3) output appraisal--the summative evaluation of the…

Presented for the special educator are some concepts and procedures used in systems analysis, a relatively new study area used in many fields to structure knowledge, to analyze problems, and to suggest and test solutions. (MC)

Development of policy sciences constitutes a main effort to reconstruct the role of intellectualism and rationality in human affairs. (Author)

Describes a study that investigated the use of computer conferencing and face-to-face communications to support the work of student teams in a systems analysis project. Compares differences in decision quality, teams' confidence in the group decision, and teams' satisfaction with the overall decision process. (Author/LRW)

Guidelines to facilitate the assessment and development of educational leadership decision-making skills are presented in this paper. Included are a review of traditional and contemporary concepts of the decision-making process, identification of appropriate techniques, and an analysis of four contemporary decision-making models by Thompson,…

Evaluation is data gathering, analysis, and interpretation that leads to decisions about practices and goals. Relatively simple analytical techniques can suffice for many evaluation purposes. Evaluation of inservice education may be viewed as an operating system where input is provided, processes are implemented, and products are generated. When…