Analyzes data emerging from a study that examined membership criteria for school teams. Six midwestern urban schools were followed for six months during the process of selecting and initiating parental and community involvement on advisory councils. Participation and attendance rates among minority participants were lower than for nonminority…

Accountability policy research relies on systems theory, objectivism, and logical empiricism to identify learning performance indicators. Policy knowledge production should permit a more holistic, causally interdependent view of teaching, learning, and leadership services. Presents an accountability policy methodology stressing formative…

Proposes a variety of epistemological lenses for viewing the school change process for school administrators' use. Applies these lenses in an actual case study depicting school change, illustrating how administrators can shift focus, position, and mode of inquiry from their usual rational viewpoint. Analyzes implications of using such lenses for…

W. Edwards Deming's quality philosophy can help organizations develop collaborative, community-building leadership practices. This article outlines five personal practices of quality based on personal leadership, partnerships, a systems focus, a process orientation, and constant dedication to continuous improvement. Stumbling blocks can be…

Discusses the lack of a comprehensive family policy in the United States and how it affects family therapy and social services. Although ideas about what constitutes a family has changed, what exists of U.S. family policy has not. Argues that family policy and family therapy are becoming mutually exclusive concepts. (JPS)

Examines the educational change process in the Czech Republic since 1989, focusing on persistence of past attitudes, change complexity, external factors facilitating change, role of national reform organizations, absence of conceptually coherent educational policy, growing advocacy for special education, and parent and teacher attitudes. Explores…

Data from various national farm surveys suggest that computers on farms are used predominantly for bookkeeping and financial analysis. Computers are not fully exploited to integrate information from diverse aspects of farm operations and therefore, may not help users develop the "systems skills" important in off-farm employment. Implications for…

Uses a methodology for probing systems-thinking developed and used to investigate the way children (N=35) think about the natural environment. Findings suggest that eight-year-old children are capable of this type of thinking. (DDR)

Reports on a student-based action research project in quality management within a postgraduate education program at Massey University (New Zealand). Finds the program to be complex, interconnected to the wider university system, with poorly defined processes, and unclear assignment of responsibilities. Considers the role of students and other…

Educational expansion is the result of an intricate interplay between individual expectations and characteristics of the educational subsystem. Using systems theory, this article presents figures on educational participation in Belgium. Educational policy cannot steer or control educational expansion. The system can only react autonomously.…

Human performance technologists add value by making systematically important connections. After illustrating the connections made in various professions and organizations, this article discusses the importance, purpose, history and process of making connections. (AEF)

The articles in this issue each contribute uniquely to the growing field of adolescent religious and spiritual development. Together, they also illustrate important themes in the field, including the multidimensionality of the domain of religious and spiritual development and a growing emphasis on themes consistent with developmental systems…

The Principle of legality of crimes and punishments (nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege) refers to the fact that an act is not considered a crime and deserves no punishment, unless the Legislator determines and announces the criminal title and its penalty before. The legality principle protects individual security by ensuring basic individual…

Background: There have been several reports of successful psychosocial interventions for children with selective mutism (SM), a disorder in which a child consistently fails to speak in one or more social settings (e.g., school) despite speaking normally in other settings (e.g., home). The present literature review was undertaken in order to…

Social class remains one of the chief prisms through which reality is interpreted. It is vital for a student to understand how this prism influences their internal representations of themselves and others. In this activity, social class is viewed as a social construction of perceived financial and/or economic status developed through societal…