Organizations commonly engage in long range planning to direct decisions. Scenario planning, one method of private sector planning, is recognized as useful when organizations are facing uncertainty. Scenario planning engages the organization in a process that produces plausible stories, called scenarios, describing the organization in several…

This field guide provides a look into education in relation to a concept that has already been established in science, business and therapy. This book will encourage and educate readers about systemic thinking through examples and ideas pertinent to education and its reform. Following a Foreword (Michael Fullan) and Introduction (Blane Despres),…

Local governments play a central role in improving the lives of children and families and in piecing together solutions to other major social, economic, environmental, and political challenges. Some ways to nurture and support systems reform activities in local governments, including those of educational systems, are explored. Systems reform can…

Using the Kite (a framework for school development) as a diagnostic tool can help schools identify barriers to reform efforts by constructing an authentic picture of the school which can be measured against the qualities and practices of a learner centered environment. The paper describes organizational theories supporting the model. (SM)

A systems approach to effective instructional design that is equally applicable to educational and organizational settings includes six components: (1) needs assessment, (2) systems design, (3) curriculum development, (4) organizational development, (5) feedback and evaluation, and (6) outcomes. The last component, outcomes, provides a context and…

When school psychologists adopt an organization development perspective they are acting on a cluster of related concepts: (1) that because schools are social organizations, school effectiveness depends on the school's organizational culture; (2) that attempts to institute educational reforms only work when the reforms and the school culture mesh;…

This paper defines problems of school officials in dealing with the new information society, and suggests a planning framework applicable to the design of school and district microcomputer systems. Educators' problems in addressing the demands and opportunities of the emergent information society include inadequate comprehension of a major shift…

National- and state-level reports on education indicators have been produced since the mid-1980s. However, the debate continues over which education indicators to select and report. This paper outlines the lessons gained by a national organization in building an education indicators system through cooperation with state education agencies and…

Proceeding from the premise that effective educational management requires effective information management, this paper identifies requirements to consider in designing student information systems, and describes how the Toronto Public Schools' system meets these requirements. In addition to examining the common characteristics of information…

Technology and structural change in education are inextricably linked. That is, schools generally need to change the way they do things to take full advantage of technology, and the use of technology tends to change what happens in schools. This report examines recent theory and practice of schools and school districts planning for educational…

The objectives of the Launching Conference of the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) are reviewed, and its recommendations are explored. The conference participants considered how theories, teaching, and administrative practices in distance education worldwide could be used to design a new distance education system for a…