In his career in education, the author has spent much time working on behalf of independent schools and non-profit organizations both in the U.S. and abroad. He believes that his work in the world of tuition-driven institutions has given him some insights into the care and feeding of successful schools. He further believes that many of the things…

This paper complements Fritjof Capra's paper in this issue, "Sustainable Living, Ecological Literacy, and the Breath of Life." It explores how concepts essential to ecological literacy can also guide strategies for overcoming barriers to introducing integrated, multidisciplinary pedagogy into school curricula. It examines how the crisis…

This book is designed to help educators recognize and, if necessary, change a school's culture. It guides principals, other administrators, and teachers in the process of shaping the culture of their schools. For those who have already begun the process, the book provides insights, examples, and reassurance that their efforts are headed in the…

This paper discusses the role of quality assurance in New South Wales school systems, which was created from the restructuring of traditional centralized bureaucracies. The emergent structure is comprised of devolved networks of schools operating within decentralized state systems. The purposes of these school systems are to enhance network…

This document, which highlights the efforts of the National Institute for Literacy to pilot the development of state literacy accountability systems in four states, outlines the components, operation, and importance of state accountability systems and discusses considerations in developing a systems approach to planning and implementing a quality…

One purpose of education is that of human-resource development--to provide society with the critical mass of intellectual capital and competent work forces. This paper presents an analysis of the emerging global context and school restructuring in industrialized nations. It also describes an evaluation conducted by the Education Committee of the…

This monograph explores the notion of viewing leadership as a single, interconnecting system at work in the internal and external school environment, rather than as a collection of individual roles. The document explores what the new leadership paradigm--a decentralized, collaborative model--means to schools. Leadership is viewed as an…

This paper looks at teacher behavior in the classroom and teacher student relationships. The first section describes teacher behavior from an interpersonal perspective and presents a model to map behavior using two dimensions, proximity and influence. Proximity indicates degree of cooperation between those who are communicating; influence…

Education reform solutions often ignore the people involved and concentrate solely on the systems in which they work. This paper presents an overview of invitational education theory and Total Quality Management (TQM) theory and describes their uses for improving education. Both theories are holistic approaches; stress the cooperative nature of…

The key to long-term institutional effectiveness is a comprehensive planning process that identifies a few vital goals that can be measured by an institution. Effective strategic planning involves five key elements: process-based planning, a systemic approach, integration with the budget process, an effective deployment process, and appropriate…

In the current milieu of ISO 9000 certification, just-in-time engineering (JIT), demand flow technology (DFT), and total quality management (TQM), industry is attempting to implement available technology for the creation, control, and delivery of documentation. In most cases, their efforts are in need of outside resources to analyze, develop,…

Many students in today's high schools choose courses and work experiences in an unplanned, aimless manner that often results in limited career options and undeveloped potential. Innovative educators across the nation have responded by restructuring schools around career pathways, which are integrated, multiyear sequences of career guidance,…

The focus of this volume is systems theory. While systems theory has been widely utilized in marriage and family counseling, it is less well known to counselors in other specialities. Articles in this issue are: "The Evolving Family of the 1990s: Implications for Counselors" (Terry Bordan and Eugene Goldin); "Systems Theory across the Counseling…

The major purpose of the workshop, "Setting a Global Agenda for the Nineties," was to identify an agenda for International Council for Distance Education (ICDE)-sponsored research. Three papers that were prepared for the workshop make up the major part of this report: (1) "Marrow Bone Thinking: Toward a Fair Representation of…

This paper explores possibilities within a paradigm that is an alternative to the reductionist, mechanistic paradigm of school-based management. The use of a "sporting team" concept (from a dynamic, holistic paradigm) rather than a "ship's crew" model (from a reductionist approach) is advocated. Using research on the governance…