The paper presents findings from a research project undertaken at the Taman Rama Gandhi School in Bali during the first anniversary week of the Bali Bombings in 2003. It explores the school's response to four key components of Gandhi's model of Basic Education ("Nai Talim") and shows that the claimed curriculum is framed by two…

The brutality toward women, minority groups, underclasses, and the environment, that has haunted western civilization is linked to the three great western religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Further, it is suggested that capitalism is a primary mechanism by which this brutality is implemented. The book begins with a survey of western…

Throughout history there have always been confusion and even contradictions concerning professionalism. An occupation can be considered a profession in one country and not another, and in one historical period and not another. One contribution to this confusion is the explanation of the social system by Talcott Parsons and others, which has framed…

In this study it is found that individual school buildings (the complex human social systems found in schools, not the buildings themselves) do affect student performance and achievement. A grade equivalent achievement test (total reading and total math score only) was used to measure achievement of 2,500 Detroit elementary school children in the…

The theory that organizations are ideological inventions of the human mind is discussed. Organizational science is described as an ideology which is based upon social concepts and experiences. The main justification for organizational theory is that it attempts to answer why we behave as we do in social organizations. Ways in which ideas and…

The author focuses on the school principal in this investigation of administrator role in relation to administrator evaluation. He conceives of role as a social construct (a product of the institution as a social system) and delineates two dimensions of role--task and style. The task component defines what the principal is expected to do, while…

If the path to a better rural life is to be a change preferred by the rural people involved, recent world experience would suggest that it must be a change born from within the given rural social system, be controlled by its beneficiaries, and be integrated into the larger system of which it is a part. Such a perspective and such a process might…

In a primer intended for the administrative professions, for the behavioral sciences, and for education, simulation and its various aspects are defined, illustrated, and explained. Man-model simulation, man-computer simulation, all-computer simulation, and analysis are discussed as techniques for studying object systems (parts of the "real…

A model of cost-effectiveness is outlined which enables consideration of some non-financial, as well as financial, elements of educational systems at school or district levels. The model enables the decision-maker to compare educational outcomes of different units, to assess the impact of alternative levels of financial input, and to select…

Societies are constantly changing; there is no natural end to social evolution. Societies can be regarded as modernizing in the sense of continually undergoing change, but also in the sense of trying to achieve specific goals already achieved elsewhere. A society can become modernized in the latter sense by becoming more specialized or…

Mental retardation exists as a category of thought, a way of classifying people. Traditionally, two models have been used in making such classifications: the pathological model of medical practitioners, and the statistical model of psychologists and other behavioral scientists. Both regard mental retardation as individual pathology characterized…

The purpose of this report is to clarify the concept, main features, and objectives of the "recurrent education" issue and to spell out the implications that this approach will have for educational and socio-economic policy making. It is suggested that acceptance of the "recurrent education" proposal implies not only a major turning point in…

This book of readings focuses on two questions: how do demographic variables influence social systems; and how do social variables influence demographic systems? It is the intersection between these two systems that defines the field of social demography and the point of view of this book. Part 1 presents a new approach to relating social and…

This paper offers a fresh perspective on causes of and solutions to environmental problems, and would be useful as an initiator of classroom discussions. The author argues that in our pursuit of a society based on environmentally sound principles, we have perhaps misidentified the villains, and have latched into solutions that may be either naive,…