In this article, the authors suggest that educational initiatives that appear to have very different missions and goals can cooperate rather than compete when schools promote a comprehensive and coordinated approach to schoolwide improvement. By organizing efforts at the systems level, schools can effectively and efficiently leverage resources to…

This paper explores issues relating to programmes for doctoral students wishing to gain experience of, and develop skills in, teaching. The focus is on "Developing Learning and Teaching"--a new provision at the University of Oxford. The purpose is to exemplify how activity theory can be used to situate particular programmes and individual…

Values education and environmental education for sustainability are both spheres of education research that have manifested rapid and overlapping development in recent years. An independent primary school located in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia participated in research on both values education and environmental education for…

This article illustrates that studying intra-individual variability in Second Language Development can provide insight into the developmental dynamics of second language (L2) learners. Adopting a Dynamic Systems Theory framework (Thelen & Smith, 1994; van Geert, 1994) and using insights from microgenetic variability studies in developmental…

Institutions across the nation have strengthened their enrollments through such strategies and tactics as coordination of recruitment activities, enhancement of financial aid processing, implementation of effective retention strategies, development of new instructional programs, a focus on intensive marketing activities, creation of one-stop…

Congressional concern about homeless students resulted in the McKinney-Vento Act (MCKV) in 2001, which provides funds to local educational agencies (LEAs). MCKV is almost a decade old, yet no evaluations of its academic effectiveness have been reported. Using a systems theory framework, this study answered research questions (RQs) involving…

There is growing recognition that an electronic Student Information System (SIS) affects student learning. Given the strategic importance of SIS in supporting school administration and enhancing student performance, school districts are increasingly interested in acquiring the most effective and efficient Student Information Systems for their…

Museum leaders around the country are in the midst of examining and changing their business models in response to new economic realities. Museum educators have an opportunity to play a leading role in this endeavor. To do so educators must understand the relationship between money and mission. For too long there has been a belief that the…

This article offers a personal vision and conceptual design for reimagining specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academies designed to nurture "decidedly different" STEM minds and ignite a new generation of global STEM talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. This design enables students to engage…

The very notion of productivity improvement involves measurement against a context. The success of computers and other quantitative approaches during the past half century has led to an ideational context wherein transmitters of information often assume that the content of their message is like code--ascertainable to the recipient by means of a…

Marriage and family therapists (MFTs), who are trained in systems theory and consult with complex and difficult systems (e.g., couples and families), are uniquely suited to both assess and intervene in broader organizational systems. However, MFTs are in need of more systemically designed assessment tools to guide and inform their interventions…

Heeding Hillard's call for teachers to crack the walls of the matrix (inequitable schooling), this qualitative case study used Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory as a theoretical lens and methodological tool to investigate the reflections of three elementary pre-service teachers. The first research question examined participants'…

This article reflects on the potential benefits of applying systemic theory to the work of educational psychologists (EPs). It reviews developments in systemic thinking over time, and discusses the differences between more directive "first order" versus collaborative "second order" approaches. It considers systemic theories and…

This article includes a description of a family-systems model for implementing early childhood and family support assessment and intervention practices. The model includes both conceptual and operational principles that link theory, research, and practice. Lessons learned from more than 20 years of research and practice have been used to revise…