This paper reports on a focus group discussion held in June, 1998, in Killington, Vermont, about a 3-year project in Vermont to encourage the self-determination of people with developmental disabilities. The project has involved training of four project teams, each composed of a person with a developmental disability, a family member, and a person…

This paper examines general systems theory as it applies to higher education institutions. Using this approach, the university is viewed as a system (comprised of subsystems) that interacts with the external environment. The first sections of the paper review general systems theory and its application to management, and examine some theoretical…

Describes Partnerships for Inclusion, a North Carolina statewide project providing technical assistance (TA) to communities as they develop and coordinate inclusive services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities and their families. Outlines the model's development, the project's core services, strategies for promoting…

Explains Total Quality Management (TQM), a participative management style, and examines its relationship to Instructional Systems Development (ISD) as it is used for curriculum development. Application of TQM principles to the ISD processes of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation is suggested. (eight references) (LRW)

This contextual model for home economics filters aspects of daily life (food, clothing, shelter, finances, and relationships) through the contexts of family ecosystems, human development, values, and environmental issues (biosystems, technology, and social systems) as a basis for research, theory, and practice. (SK)

To improve achievement for struggling readers in particular, secondary schools must design programs and curricula to address students' lack of background knowledge, delayed English language development, and limited success in reading. In this article, the author presents a systems approach that offers intensive care for the most at-risk students…

Thirteen school districts, a regional training network, and a university in Florida formed a partnership to develop support for the implementation of the statewide plan, "Blueprint 2000." Funded by the Florida Department of Education, the partnership used a quality and systems framework for helping the schools and districts in their restructuring…

Andersen Consulting is a global training firm with more than 20,000 consultants serving clients from 151 officers in 46 countries. In 1995, Andersen Consulting introduced a career development model (CDM) as a new organizing structure for its consultants in North and South America. The CDM, which translates the findings of research on integrative…

This paper, which is intended for individuals responsible for information management at British further education (FE) colleges, describes the attempts by a number of FE institutions to manage their information effectively and provides guidelines for FE institutions to follow when developing their own information management strategy. After a brief…

This book examines the rationale, benefits, and limitations of computer-assisted career decision making (CDM). Discussed in Chapter 1 are the following: the components of CDM (options, persons, environments, processes, and outcomes); the historical development and context of CDM; and considerations in reaching decisions about work, occupations and…

Under development in a Maryland district, the Competency-Based Systems Oriented Guidance Program described here combines (1) a focus on helping all students become competent in knowledge, attitude, and skills and (2) a systems orientation addressing the entire spectrum of student life by providing a common language, methods of information…

The present research addresses the issues of whether there exist certain cognitive skills that facilitate transfer, and whether such skills are themselves transferable across domains. Of primary concern is the instructability of such skills. The Systems Thinking and Curriculum Innovation Project (STACI) is a two-year research project testing the…

In Latin American education systems the inspectorate is an administrative level linking the central national educational administration to the local operations level. Traditionally the inspector's function has been to enforce fulfillment of pedagogical and administrative norms at the local level and to transmit pertinent information on achievement…

The first report of an ongoing case study examining the impact of using a laboratory of microcomputers as a tool for teaching science and social science courses in a high school, this paper reports on a sociological investigation of the organizational change in the structure and functioning of the school brought about by the introduction of the…

A child's school disorder can, and most often does, exist within the complexity of the family's transactional patterns and must be dealt with in this context. To do so, a conceptual model of family dynamics is needed. Minuchin (1979) offers a theoretical framework to help structure such a model. He and his colleagues identified five common…