For better or worse, many educational decisions that were once handled on a personal level by teachers or administrators now increasingly rely upon data and information. To be successful in this era, educators need to understand this broad sociotechnical revolution and how it is realigning traditional roles and responsibilities. In this book, the…

"The Infrastructure of Accountability" brings together leading and emerging scholars who set forth an ambitious conceptual framework for understanding the full impact of large-scale, performance-based accountability systems on education. Over the past 20 years, schools and school systems have been utterly reshaped by the demands of…

The use of student outcomes data in higher education is discussed. Consideration is given to a widely recognized taxonomy of student outcomes developed by Alexander Astin and his associates, and a classification of outcomes developed by Oscar Lenning and his associates at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). Issues…

This book describes the design and evaluation of a computer-based information system for secondary schools in The Netherlands. It reports on three studies: (1) a pilot study; (2) the SCHOLIS project, which designed a computer-assisted system for school administration; and (3) the evaluation of the implementation of a computer-assisted Absentee…

Many developing countries are now making substantial gains in developing databases on their education system. This book focuses on strengthening the link between improvements in information with better practice at the school level. It provides a synthesis of lessons learned from recent experience and research in collecting, analyzing, and using…

Media service is explored as a disciplinary application of general systems science. Media service for the nonresearcher, for the practitioner in the behavioral sciences, and for the professional researcher is examined from the premise that the media specialist generates and performs media service in an interventionist, advocacy role. The design of…

A study was conducted of the International Information Service in Physics, Electrotechnology, Computers, and Control (INSPEC) selective dissemination of information (SDI) user profile generation. Five degrees of user involvement in the generation of profiles were investigated ranging from having the user provide only a statement of subject…

Despite the development of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), strategies for bringing the capacities of educational research and development to local educational agencies have been largely ignored. This report suggests the need for "linking" strategies to bridge the gap, and proposes how they might be implemented.…

The need for a new function in education, that of the knowledge linker, is advanced. The need for a linker is explained in terms of a presumed gap between the researcher and the practitioner. The linker's suggested role in ascertaining the practitioner's needs and translating the researcher's findings is outlined. Various problems with the concept…

Descriptions and appraisals of significant recent trends and developments in the field of information science are presented. The individual chapters deal with the following topics: (1) information needs and uses, (2) design and evaluation of information systems, (3) an economist's view of information, (4) document description and representation,…

This work examines ways central and regional education ministries can influence practices at the school level. Chapter 1, "Changing What Happens in Schools: Central-Level Initiatives to Improve School Practice," reviews common themes, concerns, problems, and emphases. Chapter 2, "Knowledge Utilization and the Process of Policy…