The Postmodern Turn in Educational Administration: Apostrophic or Catastrophic Development?

Abstract

The impact of postmodernism on educational administration will be catastrophic, i.e., a radical overturning of established thought and practice. The field has been slow in recognizing the full impact of a turning away from the Cartesian mindset of modernistic science. The most significant challenges in educational administration posed by postmodernism are to the concept of a stable knowledge base upon which to determine best or reflective practices, the assumed legitimacy of departments of educational administration as sanctified places to prepare school leaders, and the decoupling of the concepts of leadership from management practice and organizational theory. The postmodern challenge is to move beyond Cartesian logic and modernist traditions to redefine practice.