Over the last several hundred years, local and national educational systems have evolved from relatively simple systems to incredibly complex, interdependent, policy-laden structures, to which many question their value, effectiveness, and direction they are headed. System Dynamics is a field of analysis used to guide policy and system design in…

This conceptual, interdisciplinary inquiry explores Complex Dynamic Systems as the concept relates to the internal and external environmental factors affecting computer assisted language learning (CALL). Based on the results obtained by de Rosnay ["World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution", 67(4/5), 304-315 (2011)], who observed…

Recent efforts to improve K-12 educational outcomes have had mixed success. One possible reason is that many students entering kindergarten lack the basic skills to succeed in school. In 2007, with support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Hawai'i launched its P-3 (preschool through third-grade) initiative, the early childhood component of the…

This study introduces the concept of Fault Tree Analysis as a systems tool and examines the implications of Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) as a technique for isolating failure modes in educational systems. A definition of FTA and discussion of its history, as it relates to education, are provided. The step by step process for implementation and use of…

This paper presents concepts relevant to, and the benefits to be gained from, using a "systems" model in thinking about academic planning in general and curriculum development in particular. An attempt is made to show how the "systems" approach provides key tools for a diagnosis of academic structure in a college or university.…

A simplified and abstract model of a manpower delivery system is presented. The relationships among the functions of occupational demands, guidance activities, placement work, occupational barriers, and interests of the job-seeker are discussed. The model points out to educational and training planners the principal aspects to consider when…

Describes Fault Tree Analysis, a tool for systems analysis which attempts to identify possible modes of failure in systems to increase the probability of success. The article defines the technique and presents the steps of FTA construction, focusing on its application to education. (RAO)

Deals with four major skill areas: (1) the analytics of categorization, (2) the analytics of priority assessment, (3) the analytics of time and transition, and (4) the analytics of decision strategy. (Author)

This publication brings together seven papers exemplifying the systems approach to educational decision making. The first discusses the need for inclusion of constituent values in educational decision making strategies to properly apply systems theory concepts. In the second, which addresses systems design for problem solving in schools,…

This study attempted to identify the differences in cost-effectiveness analysis methods in order to select the most appropriate one as a decision-assisting aid for instructional management. The study is organized to explore and identify what cost-effectiveness methods are being used, identify and examine the differences among these methods in an…

A DESCRIPTION WAS PRESENTED OF A SIMULATION VEHICLE THAT WAS BEING DEVELOPED TO PERMIT MODELING ANY SCHOOL CONFIGUATION. THE MODEL WAS CONSIDERED AS HAVING TWO MAJOR PARTS--(1) THE ACTIVITY PROCESSOR AND (2) THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROCESSOR. THE ADDITION OF THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROCESSOR TO THE PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED SIMULATION VEHICLE PROVIDES…

Previous work assessing the effectiveness of computers in education has gone no further than acknowledging a network of interconnected variables (comprising a system) which contribute to computer impact and describing its component parts. An impact systems model developed by Glasman and Bibiaminov (1981) has been adapted to facilitate measurement…

A model of the educational system in a typical public school was constructed within the theoretical framework of a general systems theory. The model is quantified and computerized so as to provide high speed simulation. Using the model developed, one can then simulate solutions to educational problems in seconds and at modest cost. The theory…

This study intoduces a strategy for analysing different kinds of phenomena by building "information structures" for analysing how parts make a whole in complex systems. The strategy introduced may be of use when there is a need to understand complex systems or situations; e.g., in various studies of adult education when education is seen as…

CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSTRUCTION OF A COMPUTER SIMULATION MODEL FOR SIMULATING BEHAVIOR OF STUDENTS AND STAFF IN A SCHOOL WERE DESCRIBED. THIS MODEL INCORPORATED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND COMPUTER SIMULATION TECHNIQUES AND WAS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MORE PERVASIVE AND INTERGRATED CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOLS. THE MODEL WAS…