Examines leadership practices of four schools participating in the Saskatchewan (Canada) School Improvement Program. Findings suggest that provincial guidelines discuss leadership without defining it. Leadership as practiced consists largely of disconnected decisions, behaviors, and actions. In a learning organization, a leadership view embracing…

Teacher-directed content, immovable subject divisions, and rigid scope and sequences perpetuate mismatch between middle school curricula and young adolescents' needs. Teachers at one Florida middle school are experimenting with Coalition of Essential Schools processes such as backward curriculum design and units of joy. Curriculum becomes an open…

In focus groups the experiences of 12 Kurdish and 13 Vietnamese refugees who resettled in Winnipeg, Manitoba were explored. They lacked employment skills and their education was interrupted. The transition from home ownership to subsidized rent affected their self-perception. (JOW)

Presents a reaction to Thompson and Neville's (1999) article, "Racism, Mental Health, and Mental Health Practice." Discusses the results of their own longitudinal study of the psychology of White racism to both promote and validate many of the theoretical claims that are presented in Thompson and Neville's article. (GCP)

Offers 20 practical guidelines for colleges and universities embarking on large-scale administrative software initiatives or enterprise resource planning systems. Guidelines are based on the extensive experience of the authors and a series of panel discussions at 1999 professional meetings. (DB)

Describes implementation of a system-level planning model focused on institutional improvement and effectiveness at the University of Missouri. Details implementation of three phases of the strategic planning model (strategic analysis, strategic thinking/decision-making, and campus outreach/systems administration planning); identifies critical…

Analogies drawn from a whitewater kayaking trip illustrate principles of enactive theory, which holds that mind, body, and world are interconnected. Learning, action, and place influence, and are influenced by, each other. Experience emerges collectively through the interrelationships of body, environment, social history, and perception as a…

Authors examine the construct of resilience and its application in schools. Analysis suggests several cautions concerning adoption of programs and practices related to resilience. These include: problems with locating resilience in children instead of systems; over-reliance upon programs to promote resilience instead of natural processes; and the…

Describes a counseling center's experience using a "systems" approach to address student retention by initiating campus-wide collaboration. Discusses the use of systemic problem solving and how the process works in action. Notes a specific benefit to the counseling center was the creation of new relationships between academic and student affairs…

Examines how school counselors can apply systems theory and social ecology to problem conceptualization and intervention planning. Also explores the implications of this broadened paradigm for the school counselor's role. Asserts that in order to achieve broad-based change, schools, families, and communities must engage in collaborative problem…

Reviews and gives an overview of counseling techniques covering 10 topic areas related to marriage and family functioning that are used in assessment and diagnosis. Examines assessment and its relationship to diagnosis, with special reference to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual series. (JPS)

Describes an initiative at Duke University (North Carolina) to develop a recognition and rewards strategy to improve the institution's ability to recruit and retain information technology staff. Details the design phase of the six job bands, guiding principles, development of a budget-neutral recognition strategy, system design, the implementation…

Based on a study at the College Preparatory Program of Saudi Aramco, this article outlines three suggestions for organizations which sponsor employees in pre-university and university programs. The first addresses specific areas in the sponsorship program. The second suggests use of a systems approach. The third provides alternatives to…

Fifty-five schools implemented substance abuse prevention programs, some received additional support from an outside innovator. Findings are interpreted from an ecological systems approach and in relationship to development and environment factors. Theoretical and programmatic implications are discussed, and recommendations for school social…

Discusses systems dynamics (SD) and considers the types of learning environments that can be designed on the basis of SD models. Highlights include social systems theory; classical systems theory and autopoietic systems theory; models of social systems; computer-based learning environments; simulation modes; and participative design of interactive…