Language learning failure is often directly related to demotivation. The purpose of this study is to examine the process of demotivation and identify its sources within four years of an undergraduate degree programme. To this end, based on the complex dynamic systems perspective of the dynamic systems theories (DSTs), the demotivation test battery…

Complexity thinking is relatively new to education research and has rarely been used to examine complex issues in physics and engineering education. Issues in higher education such as student retention have been approached from a multiplicity of perspectives and are recognized as complex. The complex system of student retention modelling in higher…

The challenge of producing the systemic changes that are needed to boost educational attainment and economic competitiveness across the country falls heavily on entities that coordinate public postsecondary institutions. Coordination of postsecondary education, whether of a single system of institutions or across an entire state, requires…

Public organizations charged with coordinating higher education institutions face a complex set of tasks. Whether coordinating institutions within one sector or across sectors, such organizations play vital roles in promoting a state's capacity for policy leadership to meet the growing need for an educated citizenry. National experts have…

A computer simulation model for graduate education long-range planning is presented, and the national, state, and institutional forces acting on graduate education are examined. The model was designed to show the causal relationships between three major interdependent academic program elements within a large public university: undergraduate…

Interviews with 20 adult returning students investigated their library needs. Seventeen female and three male undergraduates aged 23 years and older at colleges in three cities in North Carolina participated. Many adult students have needs that differ from those of traditional undergraduates, especially in dealing with technology. The time…

This project on the professional development of new faculty was undertaken to design and test a program designed to acclimatize new faculty members to Furman University and to the teaching profession. "New faculty members" were defined as those in their first five years of college teaching; approximately twenty-five percent of the Furman…

A study on modeling systems was conducted to examine the extent of model use and the usefulness of the analytical models currently available. Specific study objectives were to identify: the users of some of the most frequently used modeling systems, the reasons for the selection of particular models, the problems and successes of implementation,…

Illinois received one of six 2-year National Institute for Literacy grants to create statewide interagency staff development systems for literacy. After a staff development plan has been developed/implemented, a needs assessment process is developed that entails the following five steps: determine indicators of program quality and develop…

This master's thesis describes the development of an expert system and interactive videodisc computer-based instructional job aid used for assisting in the integration of electron beam lithography devices. Comparable to all comprehensive training, expert system and job aid development require a criterion-referenced systems approach treatment to…

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of relationship between the effectiveness of the Instruction and Research Unit in the areas of instructional program (reading and mathematics), organizational operations (procedural and substantive), school-community relations, and staff development to several measures of student affective…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module's learning objectives address: (1) the organization of a social services foster care system; (2) the functioning of human systems and the rules governing their operation; and (3) the difficulties complex systems…

This research report studied the relationship between families and day care centers as systems. Three levels of subjects were investigated: 23 day care centers in Lansing, Michigan, day care staffs and families of children enrolled. Three questionnaires were developed to obtain data on demographic and attitudinal variables. A director's…

This document presents a brief overview of each of the following components of the system of state and local district evaluation of the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Program (MCGP): program evaluation, personnel supervision and evaluation, and results evaluation. Appendixes constituting approximately 90% of the document contain the following:…

By establishing its Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) in 1989, California became the first state to spend substantial funds on building a technological infrastructure for adult education. OTAN's goals are as follows: foster communication among state officials, researchers, and local administrators, instructors, and staff in adult…