Modeling education systems: an ecological approach

Smith, John (2011) Modeling education systems: an ecological approach. International Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education (IJCDSE), 2 (2). pp. 312-319. ISSN 2042-6364 (Online)

Abstract

The specific aim of this paper is to outline some core, and developing concepts essential to the idea of the ecologies of education systems. The principle of self-organisation is recognised in sociology. But nothing organises itself in isolation; self-organisation is therefore re-conceptualised as auto-ecoorganisation. Similarly, self-reference is accepted in the human construction of meaning and understanding. The ecological perspective inserts this caveat: in order to survive, these constructions must be ecologically robust. A parallel re-conceptualisation is proposed: auto-exo-reference. Where social theory emphasises
human uniqueness and autonomy, evolutionary psychology makes the more modest claim that humans have a greater degree of post-natal-plasticity. This means that preconscious dispositions, instinct, emotion and embodiment play a role at least as important as conscious intentionality. The implications of these issues for education research will be explored along with associated concepts such as inherent variance, path dependency and scale. Finally these concepts are put to use in sketching a model of the dynamics of education systems.

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