Describing competency only in terms of individuals' technical capabilities is fast becoming inadequate. Practitioners in the 21st century must be able to apply the technical capabilities of their professions as they work with others within and external to their professions. A perception of the professional as a package of capabilities is the…

The Further Education Development Agency conducted two research studies of issues related to recording student attendance and responding to student absence. In the first study, absenteeism in five further education (FE) colleges in Britain was examined to determine the main causes of student absenteeism and administrative systems/procedures to…

This paper offers a new conceptual framework for thinking about school restructuring by examining the meaning and implications of restructuring as a school improvement strategy. Conceptualization efforts are organized around a set of fundamental questions: (1) What is the meaning of restructuring? (2) What makes restructuring necessary? (3) What…

This paper reviews two of the major issues affecting community colleges, funding and governance, examining them from a systems perspective--specifically in relation to selected theories of organizational learning disabilities and systems archetypes. The first section of the paper provides background on funding and governance issues as they relate…

This paper examines how visual information strategies may be used to facilitate the development of mental models. Topics covered include: definition of mental models; mental models and visual information; mental modeling concepts; power of modeling, including examples related to physical science, mathematics, writing, and depth of processing;…

The report of these two hearings on high definition information systems begins by noting that they are digital, and that they are likely to handle computing, telecommunications, home security, computer imaging, storage, fiber optics networks, multi-dimensional libraries, and many other local, national, and international systems. (It is noted that…

Although most models of connected discourse are strikingly similar in the types of relationships they describe, they are strikingly different in two areas: the unit of analysis and the dimensions on which cohesion versus coherence are described. Common systems for analyzing written text use the sentence, T-unit, clause, or proposition as the unit…

This paper, written for counselors, psychologists, and educators, presents an integrative review of family therapy and parent training literature. Following the introduction, section 2 reviews family systems theory and family therapy; a definition of family therapy, a historical perspective, and theories of family systems, including the…

Deals with the need to build indices for monitoring planned programs of knowledge production and illustrates how the concepts and methods can be used to build taxonomies as analytical tools. (Author/IRT)

Article provided a systems approach to individualized instruction. (Editor/RK)

The development, goals, and procedures of the Oregon Mathematics Education Council are described. With the support of the National Science Foundation, this consortium of school and college educational associations, state representatives, and business leaders developed a system to deal with the mathematical needs of the state. (SD)

A Chicago inner-city high school that attempted "top-down" innovations without true teacher participation finds that little has changed, according to a teacher who has been case historian. (Author)

Two exercises are provided which give students a chance to experience systems, to discover some of the qualities of a system, and some of the implications of interdependence. In the exercises, students assemble a flashlight that does not have all the necessary parts and role play a mechanical system. (Author/DE)

A three-dimensional Consultation Intervention Model is used to illustrate the potential for broad-based counselor impact within a university campus community. Based upon community mental health principles, consultation is described as a complex but efficient function whereby counselors may maximize the scope of their interventions. (Author)

The goal of this study is to suggest the agent systems by intelligence and adaptability properties in distance learning environment. The suggested system has flexible, agile, intelligence and cooperation features. System components are teachers, students (learners), and resources. Inter component relations are modeled and reviewed by using the…