How can an organisation move from awareness raising, in the form of natural history poster production, to the development of systems that change organisations? Through close integration of research and practice, the Gould League has achieved this transformation. It began with extensive research into best practice environmental education, going…

We make the case for an emergent notion of authenticity of science based on systems theory and neo-Piagetian thought. We propose that authentic science is an emergent property of a dynamic system of learning precipitated by the interactions among students, teachers, and scientists that occur within the contexts defined by the internal and external…

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…

A dramatic shift in chemical engineering undergraduate education is envisioned, based on discipline-wide workshop discussions that have taken place over the last two years. Faculty from more than 53 universities and industry representatives from 19 companies participated. Through this process broad consensus has been developed regarding basic…

The local board of education plays an important role in facilitating change at the local level. This paper examines factors supporting educational change in an urban school district by studying members of the local board of education. Data were derived from observations of board meetings, interviews with the five board of education members, and…

This qualitative research study aimed to examine the nature of systems change and to identify practices and strategies that states, specifically New Hampshire, use to promote community integration and deinstitutionalization of people with developmental disabilities. The study describes the New Hampshire system, including state practices,…

The major challenges for educational reform today are assembling disparate pieces of information to create sustainable systemic change and "scaling up" systemic reform to encompass all schools, all programmatic areas, all levels of schooling and diverse social contexts. Mid-continent Regional Education Laboratory (McREL) has begun to organize its…

This book offers a step-by-step, systematic process for designing high-performance learning organizations. The process helps administrators develop proposals for redesigning school districts that are tailored to the district's environment, work system, and social system. Chapter 1 describes the characteristics of high-performing organizations, and…

One may receive the most benefit from an evaluation of an educational program or the performance of a teacher if the evaluation process is approached from a Total Quality Management (TQM) point of view. Under the philosophy of TQM, the purpose of any evaluation process is to provide feedback for the continual improvement of the educational process…

Instructional systems design (ISD) is the integration of general systems theory, instructional theory, and communications theory. Edgar Dale, a leader in the fields of reading and journalism and a pioneer in the humanistic/communications tradition of the field of instructional technology, related the concrete to abstract continuum to media…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the change process in 28 schools, with a focus on how principals went about transforming traditional school-work cultures into quality systems. The principals had participated in Managing Productive Schools (MPS), a comprehensive systems-approach program based on quality management concepts.…

Discussion of whether and to what extent initial vocational training and adult education in European Community (EC) member countries can assume a modular form hinges on the issue of the module as an organizational principle. In such a context, modules are viewed not as closed teaching and learning units but rather as integral parts of a more…

For a number of years it has been suggested that distance education is a natural extension of existing teaching methods that includes learners who are separated from the instructor by time or distance. This paper takes an alternative look at distance-education research and evaluation and proposes an evaluation model built on that view. That…

Based in part on a 1992 study of 72 United States early care collaborations and leaders, this paper explores conventional understandings of leadership, reviews the leadership literature, and goes on to compare and discuss collaborative leadership in detail. The paper notes that collaborative leadership stresses the relatedness of systems wherein…

Academic standards describe the knowledge and skills that students should acquire while in traditional academic disciplines. Workplace skill standards define the knowledge and skills required to work successfully in a particular field or occupation. Standards are being generated from reform efforts to promote standards-based education and efforts…