Education as a Complex System: Implications for Educational Research and Policy

• In Event: 56.080 - Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: 56.080-1 - Considering Models for Educational Change

Abstract

This paper explores the implications of viewing education as a complex system. The properties of educational systems align with general complex systems conceptual perspectives, which instead of simple cause-effect pairings, capture these complex educational systems in networks of multiple simultaneous interaction and mediation. Methodological implications of viewing education as a complex system for researchers, practitioners and policy makers are discussed, supported by an overview of research employing these new perspectives. Challenges in learning about complex systems, both for students and for adults with professional expertise related to educational areas, are then considered. The paper then points to the need to foster a broader awareness of the intellectual and methodological tools of complexity for educational researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and stakeholders.

Authors

• James A. Levin, University of California - San Diego

• Michael J. Jacobson, The University of Sydney