A change in focus of much of the work of the Society for General Systems Research for greater impact, relevance, and productivity is suggested. Tentative unit concepts for 23 areas of study or disciplines are explored. A unit concept is defined as the central, pivotal concept around which virtually all other basic concepts in a field revolve. The…

The integration of concepts and contributions from learning theorists, media specialists, and teaching practitioners, optimized within a framework of selected system strategies derived from military management programs, can help resolve concerns for educational improvement and accountability and influence the utilization of technology enabling…

This paper identifies key variables in both the design and implementation of educational planning models and presents a conceptual framework that meaningfully relates these variables. Purpose of the conceptual framework is to provide educational researchers and practitioners with a "cognitive map" of significant variables associated with…

The author applies Gerald Nadler's approach to designing work procedures and systems to designing a system for evaluating administrative performance. He lists ten steps necessary in system development: (1) identify those individuals who are directly involved or affected by evaluation; (2) determine the functions to be served by the system under…

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…

The use of general systems theory in the field of instructional systems design (ISD) is explored in this paper. Drawing on work by Young, the writings of 12 representative ISD writers and researchers were surveyed to determine the use of 60 general systems theory concepts by the individual authors. The average number of concepts used by these…

Designed to focus attention on the design process in such computer science activities as information systems design, database design, and expert systems design, this paper examines three main phases of the design process: understanding the context of the problem, identifying the problem, and finding a solution. The processes that these phases…

The number and diversity of the parameters involved in the organization of modern education make it necessary to employ modern management methods and techniques to optimize decisions about the organization and improve the use of available material and financial resources. To accomplish these goals, a systems approach is advisable. A model of any…

The paper describes the design of an Experience Based Career Education program (EBCE) in West Virginia, a program designed to provide high school juniors and seniors with systematic and coordinated experiential learning. The basic design strategy consists of a matrix that establishes workable relationships among elements of the system design,…

This paper presents a nontraditional definition of competency and describes in detail a comprehensive model for the development of competency-based curricula based on that definition. The model was developed through the anasynthesis procedure and was validated through application in the development of competency-based curricula for three programs…

The implementation of Taiwan's nationwide constructivist-approach elementary mathematics curriculum has been ongoing for 5 years. From the perspective of systems thinking, Taiwan elementary educational system's mindset as a whole is troubled, and is unable to coordinate with the surrounding community in order to better educational standards. The…

This description of a method for using task analysis information to derive skill and knowledge requirements in the development of a training course begins by considering two important aspects of deriving skill and knowledge requirements. First, it is argued that task description is an important part of system design and training development in…

Reported on is an allocation mechanism that combines the decentralized efficiency and incentive features of a market system with the responsiveness of the centralized allocation structure to the overall goals of the university. In this system, decentralized "management centers" are automatically allocated only those income and expense items they…

A systems approach to effective instructional design that is equally applicable to educational and organizational settings includes six components: (1) needs assessment, (2) systems design, (3) curriculum development, (4) organizational development, (5) feedback and evaluation, and (6) outcomes. The last component, outcomes, provides a context and…

The paper describes the Shared Process Evaluation System (SHAPES) for analyzing the process of community development. The system's basic organizing unit is the critical incident, an event judged to be essential to the continuation of a particular community development project or as representing a choice point in the project's history. Three sets…