In this commentary on Ziegler and Phillipson's article, "Towards a Systemic Theory of Gifted Education" (this issue), the author commends their attempt to discuss gifted education from a systemic and contextual perspective, which she considers inspiring in terms of theoretical advancement and practical reconsideration. However, Cheng finds the…

The concept of ecosystem signifies the study of living species and their physical environment as an integrated whole. Traces the historical development of the concept in Great Britain and America. (Contains 38 references.) (MDH)

A review of the literature examines definitional issues in child abuse. The review is organized into sections on theory and ideology, historical broadening of concept, comparative studies, dimensions of definitions, operational definitions, and breadth of systems. The importance of definitional issues in construction of a unifying framework for…

Compares a soft system model of teaching with a hard systems model for learning, essential components of which are perception, memory, and concept formation. Proposes a combination of soft systems thinking and hard systems instruction as a scientific basis for the craft of teaching. (SK)

Loose coupling implies the tying together of subsystems in such a fashion that neither can do without the other but neither has much control over the other. The idea of loose coupling, introduced by Karl Weick, is examined in relation to educational administration and organizational analysis in general. The concept employs both a particular theory…

Describes the advantages of an ecological and active approach to classroom management, presents an analysis of how such an approach might be developed, and discusses several issues which need to be addressed in order to improve classroom management. Twenty-nine references are listed. (Author/CHC)