In this "Handbook" chapter on internationalization of educational administration, authors inappropriately equate international exchanges, pluralism in theory and research, and global patterns of educational activity with internationalization. Authors neglect intercultural thinking, overlook the rich research literature, inadequately…

Discusses a graduate-level course in mariculture to help students synthesize what they have learned in traditional courses and apply that higher-level understanding in a systematic and explicit way in evaluating complex issues. (Author/CCM)

Asserts that weaving incremental changes into the existing stable system of undergraduate education cannot result in significant improvement because systems determine outcomes. Encourages higher education leaders to abolish the course-credit system, explaining that altering graduation requirements changes everything else: student motivation and…

Realizing how difficult it is to pass tax issues today, many school boards with all good intentions place them on the ballot before the money is really needed. They do this so if the tax issues are not approved, they have another chance to get them passed before serious educational cuts have to be made. In states where school districts must rely…

Understanding the interrelations among students' cognitive, emotional, motivational, and volitional processes is an emergening focus in educational psychology. A dynamical, component systems theory of emotions is presented as a promising framework to further unravel these complex interrelations. This framework considers emotions to be a process…

External and internal forces are driving institutions not only to create departments and positions that specialize in planning, quality improvement, and institutional research but also to link them within a systems context.

This article introduces the intersystem model of psychotherapy and discusses its utility as a truly integrative and comprehensive approach. The foundation of this conceptually complex approach comes from dialectic metatheory; hence, its derivation requires an understanding of both foundational and integrational constructs. The article provides a…

Recent reforms in K-12 education have increasingly emphasized the educational system as the unit of change. The theory underlying systemic or systemwide educational reform is that powerful improvements in teaching and learning can come from developing coherence and alignment across the complex and different elements and components of an…

Reflection upon a field study of a corporate transformation provides insights into the application and integration of organizational learning theory and frameworks with local, corporate knowledge. In the corporate transformation studied this local knowledge came from consumer psychology, marketing campaigns and the use of media. When these ideas…

In this concluding paper the guest editors reflect on the contents of this special issue, and give some suggestions for future use of the CST framework. An interesting disclosure is that in chaos-and-complexity research the unit of measurement is not the individual human being, but the collective (i.e. dyad, team, or group), seen as a holon.…

Based on the position that cultural ideologies shape child development, many developmental analyses have focused on analyzing cultural conceptions of independence and interdependence. Less attention has been paid to charting the developmental sequences of children's independent and interdependent behavior that are ostensibly shaped by cultural…

Whole-system transformation is complex, yet possible. The potential for engaging in a successful transformation effort is greatly increased if a district's school public relations (PR) specialists play a strong supportive role in generating, framing, and delivering information to external and internal stakeholders about the need for change, the…

In this article, the authors describe and illustrate their approach to consultancy, development and training in residential child care. When working together the authors form the MOSAIC Consortium and provide training and consultancy to residential child care services. The article draws on systems theory, systems thinking and the politics of child…

Various surveys have documented widespread support among US parents, students, teachers and health professionals for school-based comprehensive sexuality education. In many school districts, however, the sexuality education provided is minimal, incomplete or fragmented, and essential topics are often omitted or inaccurately presented. To help…

Fitness testing is an important assessment tool used by physical educators for many purposes. Some states require fitness testing to monitor individual student progress throughout the school year. Some physical educators use it to monitor the effects of the physical education curriculum and to teach concepts such as goal setting and personal…