Administrators also do Self-Study: Issues of Power and Community, Social Justice and Teacher Education Reform

Abstract

Self-study of teacher education practices includes self-study of administrative practices in teacher education. Practitioners become administrators and wish to continue their self-study; practitioners who are not formally designated as administrators may recognize the importance of administrative practices in the institutions of which they are a part. These studies include those by administrators (deans, school superintendents, head teachers, school principals) who maintain their practice of self-study even though they have moved to an administrative role, by practitioners who have conducted self-studies with an administrative focus at the program level, and by practitioners writing self-studies with an administrative focus on teacher education reform. Key themes in administrative self-studies include issues of power (its source, purpose and use), issues of community (its development and purpose), e3orts to incorporate social justice in teacher education, and the impact of teacher education reform. The chapter surveys a broad range of studies, primarily from authors within the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Special Interest Group. Because studies of educational administration are typically quantitative or, if qualitative, are done from an exterior perspective, these self-studies are unusual in the field of educational administration. They have considerable potential for revealing the impact of today’s educational changes in the world of practice.