The author defines multicultural education and discusses the contexts that surround and affect the multicultural classroom. He calls for development of a model for multicultural education that encompasses social policy concerns. Multiculturalism as a course of study and a course of action is discussed. (CH)

Concepts basic to designing and implementing change (including instructional change) are defined. A model for analyzing these concepts is presented which involves four variables: (1) configurational relationships between innovator and adopter systems; (2) linkages between them; (3) environment of the change situation; and (4) resources available…

A model of evaluation planning, implementation, and management is presented that includes: (1) a management information system (MIS) to provide a description of the size and scope of adult literacy and post-literacy programs (ALPPs); (2) naturalistic evaluation to provide insight into the meanings of ALPPs as experienced by participants; and (3)…

The definitional and conceptual structure of the Esman model of institution building is described in great detail, emphasizing its philosophic and process assumptions and its latent dynamics. The author systematically critiques the Esman model in terms of its (1) specificity to the universe of institution building, (2) generalizability across…

In the last decade, interest in innovation diffusion and change strategies has grown, along with interest in the relationship between research and technology. In this paper, the author proposes to use his Configurational Theory of Innovation Diffusion (the CLER model) to organize a comprehensive review of theory, research, and technology. The CLER…

The point is made that systems thinking should be combined with dialectical thinking and constructivist thinking for effective systems design and systems change. To establish a context, a set of assertions on "How the World Works" in regard to systems design and systems change in education is laid out, as value assumptions undergirding…

An expanded vision of evaluation is offered that accommodates the use of both descriptive information and evaluative information, and which connects evaluation in the naturalistic paradigm with evaluation in the rationalistic paradigm for making informed decisions within programs of education and development. The model of "Information Development…

Leaders and decision makers in Africa and nations of African diaspora must face a number of challenges in their attempts to further development through literacy: (1) reinvent a concept of African development that is a product of the native genius of Africa and that is rooted in the matrix of indigenous cultural values, realities, and…

The argument underlying the ongoing paradigm shift from logical-positivism to constructionism is briefly outlined. A model of evaluation planning, implementation, and management (the P-I-M model) is then presented, which assumes a complementarity between the two paradigms. The P-I-M Model includes three components of educational evaluation: a…

The Action Training Model (ATM) was developed for the delivery of evaluation training to development workers in Kenya and Botswana and implemented under the aegis of the German Foundation for International Development. Training of evaluators is a challenge in any context, but in the Third World environment, evaluation training offers special…

Intended especially for literacy workers, this monograph discusses the planning and organization of all the various approaches to the delivery of literacy work. It is divided into two main sections. The first part discusses the general principles of planning and organizing; it may be considered theoretical in nature. Its three chapters cover the…

The National Literacy Campaign of Zimbabwe was launched in July, 1983. The objectives of the campaign were to enable adults (1) to understand information about themselves, their localities, and their country; and (2) to become effective leaders and productive members of their cooperatives, village committees, management committees, and other…

A Mega Model of Planned Change in education and social development is presented. The Mega Model consists of eight elemental models, which systematically deal with various aspects of complex change processes. Characteristics and applications of the CLER elemental model (configurational relationships, linkages, environments, resources), the basic…

Institution building is considered as a process amenable to both explanation and design if a generic "grammar of artifactual action" is used. The Configurational Theory of Innovation Diffusion model (CLER) is introduced and used to demonstrate how the world of the institution builder could be ordered as part of such grammar for designing…

After an analysis of eight mass literacy campaigns (USSR 1919-39; Vietnam, 1945-77; China, 1950-58; Cuba, 1961; Burma, 1960-1981; Brazil, 1967-80; Tanzania, 1971-81; and Somalia, 1973-75), a campaign strategy for a mass literacy campaign is proposed. A potentially successful mass literacy campaign has to be both an educational and a political…