The systems approach provides a framework for integrating different scientific disciplines. This approach is used often in Earth Systems Education. This ERIC Digest describes the systems theory and its influence on science education. (Contains 16 references.) (YDS)

This digest reviews what instructional designers do, describes knowledge management, and indicates how knowledge management is influencing instructional design. The first section defines instructional design (ID) and briefly describes the ID process. The second section covers knowledge management (KM), including definitions of KM and systems,…

The urgent need to improve big city schools has been a powerful incentive to adopt accountability systems. The following types of accountability systems may exist alongside each other: (1) political; (2) legal; (3) bureaucratic; (4) professional; and (5) market. Bureaucratic accountability is a "top down" system that holds teachers…

This digest reviews and summarizes what is known about effective school-wide behavioral management systems. Emphasis in such systems is on consistency throughout the building and across classrooms with the entire staff, both professional and nonprofessional, uniformly implementing common strategies. Common features of school-wide behavioral…

Economic forces and educational equity issues have combined to heighten calls for improved education for all students. Systemic reform calls for education to be reconceptualized from the ground up, beginning with the nature of teaching and learning, educational relationships, and school-community relationships. One of the assumptions made by…

This digest describes brief family consultation, a short-term strategy that enlists the home and school in an attempt to solve childhood behavior problems. Five criteria are given for assessing the functional status of a family: (1) parental resources; (2) chronicity; (3) communication between family members; (4) parental authority; and (5)…