Over the last several hundred years, local and national educational systems have evolved from relatively simple systems to incredibly complex, interdependent, policy-laden structures, to which many question their value, effectiveness, and direction they are headed. System Dynamics is a field of analysis used to guide policy and system design in…

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…

The point is made that systems thinking should be combined with dialectical thinking and constructivist thinking for effective systems design and systems change. To establish a context, a set of assertions on "How the World Works" in regard to systems design and systems change in education is laid out, as value assumptions undergirding…

Demonstrates how the Gestalt Approach can be useful in facilitating systems design for educational change. This approach focuses on awareness of the process that the group is involved with and helps to create an environment where individual and group concerns can be integrated and harmonized. Discusses the "Cycle of Experience" and…

Presents an approach to metropolitan-wide educational organization alternative to those of consolidation of multiple school districts into single county administrative units and voluntary interdistrict cooperative projects, in order to accomplish the edning of the inequalities of the present educational structure. (JM)

A state educational indicator system being developed by the Pennsylvania Educational Policy Studies (PEPS) project at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) is described. The extensive database that has been established as part of the PEPS project includes thousands of variables that are descriptive of the 500 Pennsylvania school districts.…

The system approach to planning and managing educational change features the use of an adaptive framework and a strategy for planned system change. The approach focuses management attention upon (1) relevant future states of expectations or goals, (2) present and future state variables and contexts, (3) human organization factors, and (4)…

The system approach to planning and managing educational change features the use of an adaptive framework and a strategy for planned system change. The approach focuses management attention upon (1) relevant future states of expectation or goals, (2) present and future state variables and contexts, (3) human organization factors, and (4)…

This paper presents some suggestions about and evidence on how research theories from social psychology can be used to improve the operation and effects of short term educational programs whose objectives include the education or reeducation of individuals. The document is intended for people connected with the kindergarten through college…

A comprehensive view of educational development in Europe considers the long-term policy implications of integrating post-secondary education into the emerging systems of education, the diversification and decentralization of post-secondary education, and mobility of students, teachers, and research workers. Major sections examine: (1) policy…

Criticizes the notion that small British schools are incapable of adjusting to demands for more specialized instruction and other innovations. Although earlier research suggested this, recent data reveals a high degree of confidence and competence ratings among smaller schools. Many schools have adopted curriculum support strategies. (MJP)

This book focuses on the interplay of education and culture and is designed to stimulate educational decision makers and practitioners in their attempt to maximize educational contributions to cultural development. People of the non-educational sectors, such as the community and media, may wish to join educators in order to make the process of…

Too many educational researchers have been too attentive to innovations and too inattentive to how educators organize to cope with them. The use of anthropological concepts and methods in analyzing the educator subculture could improve planning and implementation of innovations. A study of the attempt to develop a variant of a planning,…

Current school improvement tools are largely piecemeal and often lack credible supportive evidence. Knowledge Work Supervision (KWS) is built on the premise that schools must develop the capacity for sustaining districtwide improvements. Chapter 1, "The Past Before Us Is Not the Future," summarizes the key elements of the four phases of…

This guide, which examines the relationship between learning processes and learning outcomes, is aimed at senior managers, quality managers, and others at colleges and other post-16 learning providers in the United Kingdom. It is intended to help them define the key processes undertaken by learning providers, understand the critical relationships…