This seventh edition of "Key Data on Education in Europe" retains its main special feature which is the combination of statistical data and qualitative information to describe the organisation and functioning of education systems in Europe. The present 2009 edition maintains the subject-based structure defined by the previous one but…

Evaluation is data gathering, analysis, and interpretation that leads to decisions about practices and goals. Relatively simple analytical techniques can suffice for many evaluation purposes. Evaluation of inservice education may be viewed as an operating system where input is provided, processes are implemented, and products are generated. When…

There are basically four dimensions to a systems analysis that we find in current educational research: (1) Collecting information, (2) analyzing input-output relationships, (3) deriving models built upon these relationships to evaluate alternatives and to derive feasible solutions, and (4) attempting to derive the best solution consistent with…

A set of procedures were developed which assist in structuring tasks and objectives in a manner to permit rational decision making. The model uses a jury of experts to rank various objectives and program processes in terms of their importance. Values are generated which relate to costs in the form of a utility-cost ratio. The model was tested in a…

Education and training systems are complex organizations of facilities, instructors, equipment, routines, and students. Because of this complexity, mathematical models can be used effectively to explain the behavior of educational systems and to assist in making decisions relative to better design and operation, and improved cost-effectiveness,…

Education is too complex, multidimensional, and poorly understood to lend itself to a single cost/effectiveness criterion. Rather, analysts in the educational field seek to rank alternatives by their effectiveness, report separately on the cost implications, and leave the tradeoffs to the decisionmaker's judgment. In this context, a program is any…

Institutional research is a practicing art, whose merits lie in its relevance to and influence on decision and policy making. A more positive attitude toward theory-related research would enhance its future development. (Author/MLW)

This paper presents a model for continuous, systematic evaluation of ongoing programs and specifies data needed for decisionmaking in the areas of program adoption, curtailment, or expansion. These data give the decisionmaker the necessary information for program planning in today's sophisticated educational environment. (Author/RA)

A UNIFIED APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS OF THE FUNCTIONS AND OPERATIONS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IS PRESENTED. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES USED IN OTHER AREAS SUCH AS CRAFT, PERT, CERBS, AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH ARE SUGGESTED AS POTENTIALLY ADAPTABLE FOR USE IN HIGHER EDUCATION. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVE OF A SCHOOL IS TO ALLOCATE AVAILABLE…

Educational personnel having major responsibilities for research and development were invited to attend three one-week institutes to receive training in the use of selected management tools. instructional topics such as systems and management analysis, and definitive studies of management information systems (MIS), program planning budgetary…

As one of a series of reports in progress, this report is introduced with a discussion of the concepts underlying long-range planning of any kind, and the methods of research used to describe alternative patterns of evolution or change within various policy fields. The FAR method, which emerged out of the Contingent U.S. Patterns (CUSPs) analysis…

This publication presents in summary form the development of the two end products of the Trenton Title III project: (1) an educational planning system called STEP (System for Tranton's Educational Planning) and (2) a new planning office, the Division of Research, Planning, and Evaluation. Included is the outline of the planning cycle, a discussion…

This paper presents a summary of some recent engineering research in education and identifies some research areas with high payoff potential. The underlying assumption is that a school is a system with a set of subsystems which is potentially susceptible to analysis, design, and eventually some sort of optimization. This assumption leads to the…

This report explores some techniques that could assist educational managers in their attempts to arrive at more optimal input and output mixes. Following a review of the literature on input-output analyses in education and a description of the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment Program (the basis of the present study), an empirical…

Reports of educational policy and planning problems in Greece, Portugal, and Turkey are presented in this volume. It is the second part of a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to determine how educational systems function (see SO 011 254). In this volume each country's research team presents their work to date,…