The most pressing social problems facing humanity in the 21st century are what systems theorist Russell Ackoff referred to as "messes"--complex dynamic systems of problems that interact and reinforce each other over time. In this article, the authors argue that the lack of progress in managing messes is in part due to the predominance of…

Research on the outcomes of Montessori education is scarce and results are inconsistent. One possible reason for the inconsistency is variations in Montessori implementation fidelity. To test whether outcomes vary according to implementation fidelity, we examined preschool children enrolled in high fidelity classic Montessori programs, lower…

This article reports on a two year project in which educational psychologists offered consultation to groups of teachers, to help them find solutions to school-based problems. Teachers were drawn from within individual schools and from across a number of schools. Typically, teachers were trained by educational psychologists in group consultation…

Community-based research (CBR) is an increasingly familiar approach to addressing social challenges. Nonetheless, the role it plays in attaining community impact is unclear and largely unstudied. Here the authors discuss an emerging framework aimed toward fostering community impact through university and community civic engagement. They describe…

The ACT Against Violence Parents Raising Safe Kids program (ACT-PRSK) is an interactive violence prevention program developed by the American Psychological Association for parents of young children. The program teaches and supports parents in the areas of child development, roots and consequences of violence, anger management for adults and…

Health care and other human service programs exhibit disparities and inequalities in services and rising costs. A broader focus in program evaluation is needed. Evaluation studies should determine how well programs work as well as identify and consider alternatives. (JOW)

Fergus reviews TM 503 787, adding that the evaluator of the future should be knowledgeable about the social problem and service delivery being examined, in addition to having expertise in the methods of evaluation. The evaluator should make contributions to the creation of alternative solutions and take leadership in performing experiments.…

This paper deals with the problems of rigorous research within the dynamic organizational context. Definitions and axioms establish the natures of a social problem, a social intervention program, continuous program monitoring, a method of describing alternative treatments, treatment effect testing, and programmatic change. These definitions and…

The nature of controversial programs is discussed, including problems that such programs pose for evaluators and suggested solutions for the problems. Controversial programs are likely to generate news-media attention, internal conflicts (i.e., involving the program and evaluation staffs) and external conflicts (i.e., involving various advocacy…

Summarizes some of the common findings in the professional literature pertaining to conflict resolution (CR) curricula and peer mediation (PM) programs. Discusses theoretical, methodological and operational considerations that are relevant to conducting research and evaluation in school settings. Proposes a model to guide educators' decisions on…

Effects of a 52-lesson, class-taught, social-problem-solving training program for third-grade children were assessed. Program children improved more than controls on several cognitive skills, including problem identification, alternative-solution thinking, and consequential thinking as well as on behavioral problem-solving performance.…

Gifted students often show a deep interest in and profound concern for the complex issues of society. Given the leadership potential of these students and their likely responsibility for solving future social problems, they need to develop this awareness and also a sense of confidence in dealing with future issues. The Future Problem Solving…

This document presents a brief overview of conflict resolution in school settings and defines conflict resolution as: (1) a constructive approach to interpersonal and intergroup conflicts that helps people with opposing positions work together to arrive at mutually acceptable compromise solutions; and (2) as the body of knowledge and practice…

The purpose of this report is to explore an analysis of discussions, among groups of elementary school children, of a social problem. The intent of the research is to contribute to the advancement of methods for program and student assessment, particularly toward goals not usually evaluated by traditional testing programs. The analysis method used…

The dilemmas faced by the educational research community generally raise important implications for the new National Institute of Education. Pressing social problems require immediate solution, however, demands for immediate results in the complex problem areas of education may lead to incompletely conceived programs and sloppy scholarship.…