In education systems there is inter-connectedness with multiple sub-systems which interact with each other. This paper argues that complexity theory is well suited as a lens to research education reforms. Key elements of complexity theory that are particularly useful are applied to the South African case. Aspects of complexity theory include:…

Institutional theory, an important research tradition in analysis of schooling, has examined the development of mass schooling in the United States and worldwide. But research in this tradition has given little attention to the internal working of mass school systems, to problems of inequality and the quality of instruction, or to relating those…

The growth in the importance of school leadership has been accompanied by theory development, with new models emerging and established approaches being redefined and further developed. The purpose of this paper is to review current and recent writing on leadership models. The paper examines theoretical literature, to see how leadership is…

This paper discusses the debate on paradigms in educational administration and how this debate cannot be separated from the debate on the nature of the school. It asks questions about the extent to which recent challenges to traditional paradigms succeeded in changing the debate on the school as an organization. It supports arguments that the most…

The workings of schools have not received the attention due them in the study of educational administration. We need to generate new "images" or models of school organization that are more congruent with reality. These models need to be refined through expression and discussion and selected and changed through scientific methodology.…

The study shows that positive changes in understanding organizational goals and expectations, performance, communication, interpersonal relationships, and other benefits appear to be associated with the application of management by objectives (MBO) within a university setting. (Author/WM)

Concepts developed by systems and organizational theorists are defined and used in a review of research on the structure of admissions in higher education. Relationships are identified among these influential factors: roles of those in boundary positions; administrative units; interorganizational associations; and institutional variables.…

This presentation comprises the results of a symposium designed to examine some critical PPB implementation problems, suggest alternatives to some current practices in educational program budgeting, reply to some criticisms of the effectiveness of program budgeting as a resource allocation and planning tool, and to consider the future role of…

A coauthor of a book on the history of thought and practice in educational administration reflects on issues raised during the writing of the book as follows: (1) Categories of administrative thought are difficult to establish. Two categories were derived from Richard Scott's rational systems approach--scientific management and bureaucracy. The…

Historical reconstruction bridges the gulf between theory and practice extant in educational administration. This book characterizes evolution of administrative thought and practice in the United States. An introduction summarizes methods incorporated by this applied field from diverse administrative systems. Chapters 2 and 3 advance two of four…

Following an introduction of the systems approach for handling information, a proposal is made for an educational data system for the South Carolina school system. Input data provided by schools, school districts, and professional personnel are to be processed for use primarily by various units of the State Education Department. This department…

This document contains 15 papers from the information technology (IT) in vocational education and training (VET) section of an international conference on VET for lifelong learning in the information era. The following papers are included: "Adapting the System of Continuing Vocational Education for the 3rd Industrial Revolution--Experiences…