This article reports on the fourth stage of an evolving study to develop a systems model for embedding education for sustainability (EfS) into preservice teacher education. The fourth stage trialled the extension of the model to a comprehensive state-wide systems approach involving representatives from all eight Queensland teacher education…

The paper considers the role of program planners in ensuring community adjustment of deinstitutionalized severely mentally handicapped persons, especially in light of the provisions of the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, which provides a waiver authority to states to increase community programs for the deinstitutionalized population. The paper…

The "Planning Wheel" is an evolution of the original Systems Approach Model (SAM) that was introduced in 1986 by Murk and Galbraith. Unlike most current planning models, which are linear in design and concept, the Planning Wheel bridges the gap between linear and nonlinear processes. The "Program Planning Wheel" is designed to…

The authors describe the Special Needs In-Service Project to develop workshops to enhance the vocational and career options of special needs learners. Seven training areas are listed: program development and management skills; prevocational and vocational education materials for special needs training personnel, counselors, and paraprofessionals;…

Education is criticized both for failure to accomplish its objectives and for the inappropriateness of those objectives. Perhaps there is a need for an educational system that is not directed toward specific, predetermined goals. It seems that educators have adapted the engineering and management applications of general systems theory. Instead of…

All states have systems for mental health, public health, substance abuse, and child and adult welfare that have been in existence for many years. Treating clients across these areas is often prevented by the fact that each agency acts independently. As a result of the compartmentalization of community services, many clients fail to get the help…

Several aspects of unplanned system change in schools are investigated in this paper. Researchers relied heavily on current theoretical perspectives on the nature of educational systems, particularly those that emphasize the "loosely coupled" nature of educational organizations. Two hypotheses were tested. The first is that natural…

Findings are presented from an experimental study of consultants, a three-year project funded by the Human Services Development Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the purpose of which was to provide a technology for use by consultants within youth-serving organizations in the diffusion and utilization of innovative programs.…

Military psychology has made three major contributions to civilian education. The first is the systems approach which contains two complementary components: the conceptual and the empirical. The purpose of the conceptual approach is to understand nature to determine on what principle the system works; the purpose of the empirical approach is to…

The systems approach used at the University of Michigan to prepare vocational/career educators of handicapped and nonhandicapped students is described. Activities conducted in each of three stages of the model--planning, implementation, and evaluation are described. Program planning is seen to include identification of target population, review of…

The definition of educational technology has shifted from a focus on the organization and use of hardware and software items as a delivery system to recognizing that the introduction of technology into educational systems demands a systematic approach to enhance learning and human development. In the first definition, curriculum is the…

The five speeches contained in this document all address the general problem of productivity in education. Most of the speeches focus on the productivity issue at the state level, but individual speeches also deal with the question of the applicability of the private sector's methods of increasing productivity to the public sector, the research…

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,…

The development of information systems using an engineering approach employing both traditional programming techniques and nonprocedural languages is described. A fourth generation application tool is used to develop a prototype system that is revised and expanded as the user clarifies individual requirements. When fully defined, a combination of…

The two-year process of establishing and implementing a by-mail outcome evaluation system in a community mental health center is described. The effect of active executive leadership and the subsequent effects of staff cooperation on client participation rates are discussed, as well as specific responsibilities of the program manager. Illustrative…