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…

Equipping engineering students with the skills and knowledge required to be successful global engineers in the 21st century is one of the primary objectives of undergraduate educators. Enabling students to practice self-directed learning, to find solutions to design problems that are sustainable and to recognize that they are part of a global…

Systems thinking plays a key role in producing the understanding of a big picture--a broader view of looking at the overall system needed to develop a learning community more effectively. Practical expectations to improve the functioning of Human systems, here teacher preparedness, on identifying possible interventions, relate at description and…

When developmental concerns arise in children, a clinical assessment focuses on the child's developmental profile to achieve three goals (1) determine diagnosis, (2) develop interventions, and (3) evaluate progress. Parents often have needs during this time that are not addressed by professionals because of the exclusive focus on the child during…

Children face many important changes in the first eight years of life, including different learning centres, social groups, roles and expectations. Their ability to adapt to such a dynamic and evolving environment directly affects their sense of identity and status within their community over the short and long term. In particular, the key turning…

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…

The Council on Occupational Education, Inc. (COE) is a not-for-profit corporation that was established in 1994 to serve as a national accreditor for all providers of postsecondary work force training and education who can meet its standards. The COE has developed a new system of quality assurance for occupational education that emphasizes the…

Marriage and Family Therapy is an increasingly popular treatment that was almost unknown 50 years ago. Family Therapy has been multidisciplinary from the beginning, drawing practitioners from social work, psychology, psychiatry, nursing, and pastoral and mental health counseling. It is often difficult to get a whole family to arrange schedules so…

This paper summarizes a new paradigm of instructional supervision, which shifts the focus on supervision from an examination of individual behavior to the improvement of work processes and social system components of the school district. The paradigm, called "Knowledge Work Supervision," helps teams of teachers and specially trained supervisors…

This paper summarizes a new paradigm of instructional supervision, which shifts the focus from individual behavior to the improvement of work processes and social system components of the school district. The proposed paradigm, the Knowledge Work Supervision model, is derived from sociotechnical systems design theory and linked to the premise that…

This paper examines elements that support the creation of a Motivational Learning Environment. Is it possible to motivate students or should educators focus their energy on creating a motivational learning environment in which students become self-directed and self-motivated learners? The paper focuses on the topics of paradigms, purpose, people,…

For the field of human development, the synthesis of older theories of the environment, newer context theories, biological theories, and systems theories permit the generation of new models for the developmental process. This paper reviews, compares, and contrasts recent theories of development and presents a synthesis that can guide future…