Post-productivism is a contested concept, and some argue that it should be abandoned. In this paper, a more focused definition for post-productivism is suggested. Evidence for change in forestry and agriculture that could be categorised as post-productivist is presented, in relation to both the narrower definition and to characterisations…

In the debate surrounding the costs and benefits of having foreign students at South African universities, the financial contributions of foreign students to their host economies is sometimes cited. This article reports the results of a comparison between the economic impact on the Grahamstown economy of the spending of foreign and local students…

This study uses rich empirical data from Brazil to assess how a government program (PDE) that decentralizes school management decisions changes what goes on in schools and how these changes affect student outcomes. It appears that the PDE resulted in some improvements in management and learning materials, but little change in other areas including…

This paper provides a conceptual framework for addressing the issue of effectiveness and efficiency in education. It considers alternative criteria for identifying efficiency and discusses constraints on improving efficiency. The first section distinguishes efficiency from effectiveness, and also distinguishes "internal" from "external" efficiency…

The rationale for the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) is the subject of this paper. The Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools requested a model for systematic evaluation of educational programs to determine their effectiveness. The school system's emphasis on objective-referenced instruction and testing,…

All of the papers presented as part of a symposium concerned the application of the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) to the evaluation of the District of Columbia Public Schools' programs supported by the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title IV-C. PMI was developed to provide a model for systematic evaluation of…

This report series defines and measures the "information activity" within the national economy. "Information activity" is defined to include those specific industries and occupations whose primary function is to produce, process, or transmit economically valuable information. Changes in the national labor force are analyzed…

The Comparative Systems Laboratory (CSL) proposed to deal with the problem of testing retrieval systems by examining a number of processes involved in such systems, with particular attention to the human factor. It is hoped that the results of the project will be useful in refining methodologies for experimentation with information retrieval (IR)…

The relationship of certain input variables to output was determined by a multiple regression analysis, using a sample of 44 suburban elementary school districts. The four input factors were: (1) socioeconomic characteristics, (2) assessed valuation, (3) per-pupil operating expenditure, and (4) educational treatments. The output was mean scores on…

Mathematical model building for educational planning in this country has been heavily influenced by the USOE DYNAMOD Model, a computerized Markov-type or input-output model. However, the input-output method is structurally inadequate to reflect the true behavior of the educational system. To introduce some elements of decision making into the…

In illustrating how systems analysis can aid university planning, a report is presented of the early results of the application of systems analysis to problems of planning in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Analysis is reported of various alternative policies concerning enrollment, curriculum, involvement of teaching, hospitals,…

This article outlines the procedures followed in program evaluation in Pittsburgh public schools. A program design is obtained by asking the field staff a series of specific questions. As the staff interact, problems about the program are resolved. The consensus achieved is the basis for standardization of activities in the field. The next step in…

Design tools used for instructional planning can be described in terms of inputs, outputs, major components, and their interrelations. The outputs are course length; student flow; and requirements for resources, such as facilities, material, personnel, and dollars. The inputs are the teaching institution, learners for whom the course was designed,…

Resource acquisition is a general process active in all social organizations. The relative success of organizational resource mobilization determines whose goals and values will be met. Several factors impinge on resource mobilization, including suborganizational levels, technological sophistication, professionalization, and unionization.…

This publication is a discussion of the concept of an educational production function, a mathematical formulation of the relationship between inputs and outputs in education. A description of how a production function can direct decision making toward economic efficiency precedes a theoretical discussion of the nature of actual estimation. Several…