This document presents a pilot training program which developed, diffused, and evaluated the application of a selected group of research and development (R&D) techniques for planning and initiating change in the public schools. The training model resulted from suggestions of an interdisciplinary development team at the University of Kansas. The…

In reviewing the development of competency-based teacher education, emphasis was placed on philosophical and psychological rationales and on systems analysis. The philosophical rationale stresses the acquisition of knowledge in teacher education programs. Competency-based teacher education programs broaden this scope to include the application of…

THE WORK OF THE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DIVISION OF SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION DURING 1966 IS REPORTED. THE PROGRESS OF VARIOUS STUDIES AND ACTIVITIES DISCUSSED IN THE REPORT WERE ADVANCED PROGRAMING, INFORMATION PROCESSING RESEARCH, PROGRAMING SYSTEMS, DATA BASE SYSTEMS. LANGUAGE PROCESSING AND RETRIEVAL, BEHAVIORAL GAMING AND SIMULATION…

A technique for the analysis of ecosystems developed by Odum focuses on the nature of interactions which take place within the system being considered. This technique can be used to assess the contribution of any variable to an interaction. Using data derived from previous research conducted by Feather, the authors employ this technique to examine…

A concise description of a study directed at exploring the question of whether systems analysis could be applied to educational problems. (HB)

Author expresses concern about a number of problems inherent in the DD and A processes as they now exist in education and feels that educational practitioners making changes and innovations need to be protected from research and evaluation reports of poor quality. (Author/MB)

Chaos theory is being used as a tool to study a wide variety of phenomena. It is a philosophical and empirical approach that attempts to explain relationships previously thought to be totally random. Although some relationships are truly random, many data appear to be random but reveal repeatable patterns of behavior under further investigation.…

In this paper, an information processing model of social systems is developed with particular concern for large complex organizations. In explicating the sixteen assumptions and propositions of the model, the literature on environmental uncertainty, interorganizational communication, technology, and their effects on internal organizational…

Design tools used for instructional planning can be described in terms of inputs, outputs, major components, and their interrelations. The outputs are course length; student flow; and requirements for resources, such as facilities, material, personnel, and dollars. The inputs are the teaching institution, learners for whom the course was designed,…

The applicability of a mathematical theorem designed to trace causality of a three-variable path that consists of an initial cause variable, an intermediate variable, and a final-effect variable with control over other system variables is evaluated. The formula was used with a horizontal rather than a normal distribution, as had been done in an…

A simulation model of a suburban school district is synthesized by incorporating the results of multiple regression analysis within an Industrial Dynamics framework. The intermediate empirical analysis is described and results of the validation procedure for the final simulation model presented. Three computer experiments with the system model are…

Keynote speech by the Vice-President, University of Saskatchewan, at the first annual meeting of the Saskatchewan Educational Research Association. (MB)

This essay is an inventory of the needs that the author hopes will serve to stimulate others to reassess and revise their basic thinking and analysis about the politics of education. It points to continuing needs in basic theory, concepts, research design, data collection, and analytical methods. (Author/IRT)

This report summarizes the preliminary findings of the Educational Policy Research Center in the area of alternative future histories and analyzes the implications for educational policy. The analysis is based on the overall finding of the study that "of some 40 feasible future histories, there are very few that manage to avoid a period of serious…