This field guide provides a look into education in relation to a concept that has already been established in science, business and therapy. This book will encourage and educate readers about systemic thinking through examples and ideas pertinent to education and its reform. Following a Foreword (Michael Fullan) and Introduction (Blane Despres), the book includes: (1) Open Systems Theory and System Dynamics: The Twin Pillars of Transformational Change in School Districts (Francis M. Duffy); (2) Chaos Theory and the Sciences of Complexity: Foundations for Transforming Education (Charles M. Reigeluth); (3) Using Systems Thinking to Improve Twenty-First Century Schools (Bill Thornton and George Perreault ); (4) School Improvement: A Systemic View of What's Missing and What to Do about It (Howard S. Adelman and Linda Taylor); (5) The Crucible of Reform: The Search for Systemic Leadership (Thomas L. Alsbury); (6) Leadership and the Self-Organizing School (David F. Bower); (7) Strange Attractors in School Leadership (Sarah Smitherman and Angelle Stringer); (8) Shared Accountability: An Organic Approach (Carlos A. Torre and Charlene Voyce); (9) Exploring the Shape of Change: Utilizing the Power of System Dynamics in K-12 Education (Lees Stuntz, P. Jeffrey Potash, and John F. Heinbokel); (10) Culture, Chaos and Complexity: Catalysts for Change in Indigenous Education (Ray Barnhardt and Anagayuqaq Oscar Kawagley ); (11) Expanding the Space of the Possible: Understanding Knowledge, Learning, and Teaching as Nested and Recursively Elaborative Processes (Brent Davis); and (12) Conclusions and Continued Beginnings: Application of the Systemic Factors Inventory Analysis Matrix (Blane Despres).