Practice Of Educational Administration Research Articles

Practice of Educational Administration Theories in Secondary School of Bangladesh

The efficient execution of educational programs in schools has made the position of educational administrators increasingly important. Theories offer a conceptual structure that facilitates comprehending, forecasting, and managing behavior within organizational settings. The purpose of this study is to explore the practice of educational administration (EA) theories in secondary school of Bangladesh, and the role of educational administrators. A qualitative approach is used for gaining in-depth understanding in the real-life-situation. Semi-Structure Interview and Focus Group Discussion have been used to collect data. Data have been analyzed using thematic analysis technique. Findings show that secondary schools of Bangladesh are practicing the Scientific Management Theory and System Theory collaboratively through maintaining formal structure. Human Relationship and Behavioral Approach Theory have been practiced in the shadow of formal structure. As well a hybrid approach is being practiced in the schools. The administrators find the challenges to practice these theories. The challenges are lack of infrastructure, scarcity of teaching learning resources, teacher-student-ratio, local conflict, and school managing committee’s internal clash. The findings of this study would be useful for educators, educational administrators and researchers in advancing EA theories in education. Teacher’s World: Journal of Education and Res arch, 50(1): 135-154

Conceptualizing space in educational administration and leadership research: towards a spatial justice perspective

ABSTRACT In this conceptual paper, we propose that a theorization of space has the potential to advance the scope of research methods in educational administration and leadership. In particular, we argue for the incorporation of the notion of ‘spatial justice’ to the research, analysis, and practice of educational administration and leadership in educational organizations and communities. Our guiding questions are: a) How can spatial theorizing inform research in educational administration and leadership? and, b) How can the idea of spatial justice be incorporated into the analytical repertoire of researchers in educational administration and leadership? While we recognize that the preoccupation for equity and social justice is central to the field of educational leadership, we believe that the scope of research in this field could be further expanded by incorporating a spatial justice perspective.

The Scholar–Practitioner Ideal

The scholar-practitioner leadership model as presented in this paper refers to an ideal that is delineated in a set of literature that emphasizes a unique paradigm of scholarly practice in educational administration. Specifically, this article focuses on reviewing prior and emerging theoretical perspectives as typifications, or the ideal of the scholar–practitioner educational leader for school administration as defined in a specific regional university doctoral program. Primarily, the synthesis of these sources supporting this theoretical study focuses on the literature presented in this program and centers on, but are not limited to, Foster (1984, 1989), Capper (1998), Horn (2000, 2009), Jenlink (2001, 2006, 2010), Giroux (1992, 1994), Mullen (2003), and Starratt (2001, 2005). Synthesizing the literature, a conceptualization of the scholar-practitioner develops as a school leader who embodies an ability to face the continuously emerging concerns that are the norm in current educational settings. The conclusion is that aspiring to the ideal of the scholar–practitioner will supply school administrators with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills that the 21st century will demand.

Bill Boyd and the Australian Connection

In putting together this short, inevitably incomplete, account of my “good mate” Bill Boyd's contribution to Australian research and practice in educational administration and education policymaking, I have sought the views and recollections of some of the colleagues who worked closely with him. I have chosen to quote them at length rather than attempt to summarize their statements. I think their own words powerfully reflect their respect for and emotional attachment to Bill. Bill Boyd was a great friend, scholar, and colleague to many of us in Australia. Perhaps the single most striking feature of his academic, professional, and personal connection with Australia was the impact and broad reach of that connection.

Need to Address Evidence-Based Practice in Educational Administration

Purpose: This article presents a case for addressing evidence-based practice (EBP) in educational administration. Content is arranged around four objectives: (a) summarizing the status of educational administration as a profession, (b) defining evidence and the model, (c) explaining EBP's social and professional merit, and (d) identifying barriers that may prevent the concept from being understood correctly, accepted philosophically, and implemented appropriately. Proposed Conceptual Argument: The need to consider EBP is framed by society's demand for greater accountability from professions, the realities of practice in an information-based society, and a proclivity to rely on the theory of legal accountability to improve schools. In the aftermath of the No Child Left Behind Act, critics have portrayed educational administration as a field lacking internal accountability, epistemological consistency, and a focused research agenda. The alleged deficiencies may be contributing to an erosion of state licensing laws for superintendents and principals and casting a cloud over the future of educational administration departments. Implications: Reliance on external accountability in the absence of internal accountability is unlikely to improve schools or to provide social authority for educational administration. Instead of continuing to agree to disagree over the most fundamental issues, scholars in this field need to define EBP in a manner that integrates empirical evidence, tacit knowledge, and values and then conduct research to determine the concept's effectiveness.

The Principal's Role in Creating Inclusive Schools for Diverse Students: A Review of Normative, Empirical, and Critical Literature on the Practice of Educational Administration

Public schools in the United States are serving a more heterogeneous student population now than ever before. Drawing on normative, empirical, and critical literatures, this review explores the role of school administrators in responding to the needs of diverse students. Three administrative tasks highlighted: fostering new meanings about diversity, promoting inclusive school cultures and instructional programs, and building relationships between schools and communities. Administrative work that accomplishes these tasks can be thought of as a form of practice, with moral, epistemological, constitutive, and discursive dimensions. Inclusive administrative practice is rooted in values of equity and social justice; it requires administrators to bring their full subjectivities to bear on their practice, and it implicates language as a key mechanism for both oppression and transformation.

Emerging technologies in global communication

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe how practitioners from Canada, the UK, Singapore, and the USA, university educational administration faculty from the USA, and the editor of a premier international journal of educational management engaged in a collaborative process to discover how to improve the preparation and practice of educational administration on a global basis.Design/methodology/approachAn appreciative inquiry theoretical research perspective was used to discover a positive core of experiences that could add to cultural proficiency as it relates to educational administration.FindingsIn each cultural context, the central nature of the highpoint stories focused on appreciative ways to work with other people. The stories suggest that relationships and collaboration are at the heart of an educational administrator's practice. It was discovered that twenty‐first century educational administrators operating in a global context believed that they could become difference makers in education.Originality/valueThe findings from this study provide encouragement for extended global collaboration for practicing educational administrators as well as those who are responsible for their preparation. The findings also suggest that using collaborative technologies in the framework of a cross‐cultural educator partnership can enhance the preparation and practice in educational administration programs.

Theory in educational administration: naturalistic directions

Provides an overview of a rather large research program, developed over the last 15 years, that seeks to offer a new perspective on the nature of theory and practice in educational administration. The core ideas of the program, together with a considerable amount of detail, can be found in three books by Evers and Lakomski. However, because these volumes stand in a developmental sequence, there is merit in presenting in a brief compass an account of our overall strategy, especially in relation to the nature of administrative theory, and some of the conclusions reached along the way. The discussion has two main parts. First, the central theoretical features of our program are outlined, indicating some earlier results flowing from their application to various debates in educational administration. Then, some examples are offered focused on the main concern of our most recent research – developing and applying this framework to a cluster of problems about administrative practice and the nature of practical knowledge.

What paradigm shift? An interrogation of Kuhn's idea of normalcy in the research practice of educational administration

The discourse of modernism posits that logical change is a fundamental process in its internal makeup. The rhetoric of modernism is replete with stories about the use of the scientific method in gathering data, developing theories that are testable, and proving or disproving them. Despite the fact that a close analysis reveals that the use of the scientific method is at best a rhetorical feat and at worst pure fiction (Beveridge, 1950, The Art of Scientific Investigation (Vintage), Geison, 1995, The Private Science of Louis Pasteur (University of Princeton Press)), these revelations have not discouraged the idea that progress is inevitable within its metanarrative (Nesbit, 1980, The History of the Idea of Progress (Basic Books)). Within the context of modernism is Kuhn's parallel idea of paradigm and paradigm change. This article shows how paradigms preclude considering certain forms of change which threaten their borders as a meta-discourse. Because of this continuous centring and re-centring, paradigm shifts as posited by Kuhn are not changes at all because they are inherently commensurate, a condition which Kuhn believed to be impossible between paradigms. We have therefore a mistaken notion of change that envisions mutations and gradualism for fundamental ‘paradigm shifts’. ‘New theories’ are simply ‘old theories’ made over and renamed. The alternative is to consider conceptual diversity by abandoning the idea of a paradigm itself and with it the need for a singular field of theory and practice.

The Principal's Role in Creating Inclusive Schools for Diverse Students: A Review of Normative, Empirical, and Critical Literature on the Practice of Educational Administration

Public schools in the United States are serving a more heterogeneous student population now than ever before. Drawing on normative, empirical, and critical literatures, this review explores the role of school administrators in responding to the needs of diverse students. Three administrative tasks are highlighted: fostering new meanings about diversity, promoting inclusive school cultures and instructional programs, and building relationships between schools and communities. Administrative work that accomplishes these tasks can be thought of as a form of practice, with moral, epistemological, constitutive, and discursive dimensions. Inclusive administrative practice is rooted in values of equity and social justice; it requires administrators to bring their full subjectivities to bear on their practice, and it implicates language as a key mechanism for both oppression and transformation.

Cultural Isomorphs of Educational Administration: Reflections on Western-centric Approaches to Values and Leadership

This article proposes that the achievement of conditions approximating reflective practice in educational administration in an increasingly globalized society is a function of three particular leadership qualities—sophistication, sensitivity and synergy. A case for the achievement of these conditions is presented in three phases. First, a context is established for promoting reflective administrative practice by looking at the prevailing or dominant social isomorphs associated with school administration in the English speaking world. Second, several robust and empirically verified theory perspectives on values derived from the work of Hodgkinson are presented as supports to the achievement of sophisticated and sensitive educational leadership practice. Although grounded in theory, these perspectives are presented in a practical and easily understood fashion that is relevant to school leaders. Third, the application and use of these perspectives in the setting of educational leadership practices is demonstrated. The article concludes by warning that since much of the prevailing literature has a North American bias, educators in Asia need to be alert to the potential of misleading cultural isomorphs.

The Principal's Role in Creating Inclusive Schools for Diverse Students: A Review of Normative, Empirical, and Critical Literature on the Practice of Educational Administration

Public schools in the United States are serving a more heterogeneous student population now than ever before. Drawing on normative, empirical, and critical literatures, this review explores the role of school administrators in responding to the needs of diverse students. Three administrative tasks are highlighted: fostering new meanings about diversity, promoting inclusive school cultures and instructional programs, and building relationships between schools and communities. Administrative work that accomplishes these tasks can be thought of as a form of practice, with moral, epistemological, constitutive, and discursive dimensions. Inclusive administrative practice is rooted in values of equity and social justice; it requires administrators to bring their full subjectivities to bear on their practice, and it implicates language as a key mechanism for both oppression and transformation.

The Case for Theoretical Pluralism

In this paper, the author begins with the proposition that research and theory tend to lag behind practice in educational administration. By this he means that the problems of schools, and the activities of administrators, teachers, students and parents are not adequately explained by present theories nor examined successfully by present-day research. In addition, while there seems to be a general awareness of the social milieu in which the school exists, theory and research in educational administration do not reflect the social setting of education. There are many reasons for this, including faulty research methodology. In exploring this claim the author makes the case for theoretical pluralism and does so by attempting to demonstrate the shortcomings of research based on single theories. He claims that practitioners have always complained that research has not helped them to do a better job and suggests that theoretical pluralism offers the best hope of remedying this.

An Examination of Research and Practice in Educational Administration(Restructuring Educational Management Studies)

An Examination of Research and Practice in Educational Administration(Restructuring Educational Management Studies)

Culture and educational administration

Outlines the rationale for exploring the role of culture in the practice of educational administration. Examines how culture fits into a broad theoretical framework for studying administrative behaviour in education. In doing so, distinguishes between the use of the societal culture construct as an exogenous and an endogenous variable. Argues that there is much conceptual leverage to be gained from employing culture as a variable in such a theoretical framework. Suggests a revisiting of the framework for studying educational administration developed by Getzels et al. almost 30 years ago. Finally, looks at the transmission of a knowledge base through training. Explores the implications that a cultural perspective has on the interpretation and use of knowledge as well as on its communication through preparation programmes. Contends that the cultural lens illuminates the limitations of the current knowledge base and supports the importance of this line of research in the future.

The Nature of Implicit Knowledge of Senior School Administrators

This article reports on the findings of an interpretive study that explored the nature of implicit knowledge of five secondary school principals. It was conceptualized as being declarative at one time, acquired through an implicit process, or truly implicit. Vignettes were compiled to show how the five used implicit knowledge in their decision-maling. Information collected illustrated that the administrators' implicit knowledge experiences were idiosyncratic, dynamic and pragmatic. It is concluded that implicit knowledge plays a major role in the actions of administrators and that, as such, it merits a higher profile in current theory and practice in educational administration.

Science and Theory in the Practice of Educational Administration: A Pragmatic Perspective

Science is a dynamic process; its basic goal is to develop theory. Theories are abstract, general explanations which are not strictly true orfalse but, rather, useful or not. Such theories in educational administration are those that help administrators solve the problems of practice; hence theoretical perspectives in educational administration must be open, fluid, and pluralistic. Although administrators ground their knowledge in problem-solving experiences, experience is contextual and conclusions are contingent and probabilistic. Today ' propositions should remain open to inquiry and be subject to revision in light of new evidence. Above all, reflective administrative practice is rational, systematic, and reasonable and avoids all dogma that inhibits inquiry.

Cognitive Perspectives on Values in Administration: A Quest for Coherence and Relevance

This article considers the special function of values as an influence on administrative action. Because a significant portion of the practice of educational administration requires rejecting some courses of action in favor of others, values are generally acknowledged to be central to the field. In this article, theories of cognition are employed as a conceptual lens for reviewing and classifying the theoretical and research literature on values. Adopting this perspective allows the reconciliation of several theoretical and conceptual difficulties and maps out various values theories in a manner that is perhaps more relevant to educational leadership and administration.

Influence of Callahan's vulnerability thesis on Thought and Practice in Educational Administration, 1962 to 1992

This discussion of the influence of Callahan's vulnerability thesis on thought and practice-primarily in the shaping of school administration and, resultantly, its influence on thought and practice in other disciplines-is the result of extensive historical research. Spanning three decades, this research involves an exhaustive analytical examination of numerous works in which Callahan's thesis was cited. Also, interviews were conducted with some of Callahan's prominent colleagues and students, as well as with devotees of the vulnerability thesis.

Science, Critique and Administration: The Debate between the Critical Theorists and the Materialist Pragmatists

Dr Trevor Maddock works at the Department of Education at the University of Adelaide. In this paper he considers the debate between the critical theorists as represented by Richard Bates and materialist pragmatists as presented by Gabriele Lakomski as a contemporary manifestation of one dimension of the ongoing dispute over the appropriate depiction of the character of administration in education. In this context, the discussion focuses in particular upon the merits of some of the central ideas of Habermasian critical theory as potential linchpins for an understanding of the study and practice of educational administration.