Presents an interdisciplinary discussion of the multiple dimensions of racism and formulates conceptions of its impact on the formation of healthy personalities. Describes how racism has both ideological and structural components and perpetuates itself recursively at the macro- and microlevels. (Author/GCP)

Suggests that Niklas Luhmann's perspective on socialization and education deserves attention from educational researchers. The paper reviews the paradigm change in systems theory, examines Luhmann's core concepts and their consequences, and discusses conceptual distinctions and determinations regarding issues of socialization and education,…

Argues that despite good intentions, Ernest Boyer's "Scholarship Reconsidered" fails as an analysis of and recipe for change in the university because it ignores the broader socioeconomic context within which it functions. Another conceptual model for promoting real change in the university, using a systems approach, is offered, and…

Presents a conceptual framework for educational change that is based on systems and complexity theories and organizational change, illustrating how it works by discussing the strategies and achievements of some of the most progressive American teacher unions working to change education today. Strategies include developing internal coherence,…

Presents a philosophical analysis of professionalism to clarify professional responsibilities for continuing education; illustrates professional organizations' responses, using occupational therapy as an example. Provides a framework for planning continuing professional-education activities based on a systems approach. (SK)

Discusses technical services as a reader service in academic libraries and suggests that the successful implementation of digital libraries needs a systems approach that crosses functional and administrative boundaries. Describes the need for the integration of technical services with other reader services and explains forces pushing for and…

Describes an instructional design process, Learning Environment Design (LED), as being geared to the design of flexible and user-centered learning resources by distinguishing between content and strategy. LED as a possible successor to instructional systems design is discussed, and the potential of LED for restructuring schools is considered.…

The triple helix image of university-industry-government relations should be reconsidered with a focus on knowledge production systems. Public policies aimed at improving relationships should recognize the contributions made in this new mode of production and take into account users as the fourth player. (SK)

This taxonomy of learning tasks new employees must complete has four categories: individual (attitudes, expectations), people (relationships, supervision), work tasks (knowledge, skills, abilities), and organization (culture, roles). Learning tasks are accomplished through three types of intervention: orientation, job training, and workplace…

Examines four aspects of administrative software systems implementation that college and university administrators need to understand to avoid implementation pitfalls. These include: (1) system complexity, (2) dangers of customization, (3) documentation, and (4) real costs. (DB)

Explores current influences on educational managers' work, lightheartedly adopting the language of phenomenology and describing the "cult" of two gods of mismanagement. Discusses these gods in terms of their myths, practices, main adherents, structures, beliefs, and spiritualities, evaluating how these characteristics afflict management practice.…

Examines assumptions that policy for secondary school teachers' continuing professional development should be dominated by such activities as courses and workshops. Research into learning, communities of practice, and complexity establishes a contrary view that subject departments are prime sites of non- predictable professional learning. The…

Article focuses on the devastating consequences of poverty on the educational outcomes of school children and micro-, exo-, and mesosystems as their home, school, and community. An ecological systems perspective is offered to identify interventions and change the quality of interactions and processes among these systems in ways that improve…

Suggests that our combined public, private, corporate, and proprietary system of postsecondary education can be best understood as a complex interaction of various types of markets, governmental policies, disciplinary associations, and institutional actors. Proposes a model for explaining how these factors interact to form the "system" of American…

Illustrates a "systems approach," based on the quality deployment function, for examining the direct and interaction effects of multiple solutions aimed at improving access to college and student persistence. The high leverage solutions emerging from this study call for the improvement of academic achievement and schools for grades K-12. (SLD)