John A. Clark's critique of "Evolution in the Professorship: Past, Philosophy, Future," by Donald J. Willower (published in the summer 1983 issue of this journal) is refuted by the author. (MLF)

Responds in an ongoing dialogue with Peter Gronn about the need for self-critical inquirers who emphasize openness and skepticism in research methods and ideas. (MLF)

Inquiry in educational administration draws on philosophy and science, since it addresses both moral and empirical issues. Educational administration is a highly complex field concerned with what educational organizations and settings should be, how they work, and what improvements are necessary. This paper reviews pitfalls awaiting discussions of…

Examines the state of the art of theory and theorizing in educational administration, investigates in what ways and why theory and practice have been disconnected and how they could be better conjoined, and suggests a number of strategies that may profitably be used to provide field data with theoretical utility. (Author/IRT)

Deals with three types of philosophical issues surrounding theory development: epistemology, abstraction and the concept of system, and values and ideology. (JM)

Counters Fenwick English's supportive treatment of postmodernism in this issue. Criticizes key concepts of postmodern-postconstructuralist thought, namely rejection of the metaphysics of presence and metanarratives and emphasis on textualism and deconstruction. Finds postmodernism seriously flawed, with little to offer educational administration.…

Following a brief summary of the historical context of the professorship in educational administration from 1959 to the present, an eclectic philosophical grounding for the profession, drawing from naturalism, instrumentalism, empiricism, and pragmatism, is proposed. Implications for inquiry and practice are drawn, and recommendations for future…

This brief essay on theory in educational administration examines the state of the art in general terms. No effort is made to provide a comprehensive or substantive review of theories or the research associated with them, although some attention is given to those topics. The essay's major concerns are with the particulars of theory development and…

Expands the author's past criticisms of phenomenological and Marxist perspectives regarding educational administration; provides an analysis of the concept of loose coupling; and offers a philosophical alternative to phenomenological and positivistic positions. Emphasizes the interplay of philosophical viewpoints with issues in theory, research,…

Presents John Dewey's version of pragmatism and discusses implications for reflective administration. Dewey's pragmatist perspective represents a severe challenge to subjectivists and critical theorists. Deweyan science emphasizes the creative, human, and fallible, but self-corrective, aspects of scientific inquiry. For administrators, reflective…

Presents a philosophical grounding for valuation in educational administration. It is based on a naturalistic perspective that shows how scientific methods and relevant concepts and explanations can be used in situations requiring moral deliberation. Examples illustrate how administrators can use tentative explanations and consequence analysis to…

Advances an alternative philosophic view to positivism, subjectivism, or neo-Marxian critical theory. Comments on Evers and Lakomski's article in the same "Educational Management and Administration" issue, criticizing their views about coherence and empiricism and underlining the importance of societal and social science contexts in…

The critical examination of society's circumstances, institutions, and cultural predispositions and values can help detect problems and injustices and can suggest opportunities for improvement. Neo-Marxist critical theorists of the Frankfurt school are committed to work of this kind, but their perspective is informed by Marxian precepts, and their…

A discussion of the importance of skeptical probing in educational administration considers fundmental philosophical concerns, issues in inquiry, several theoretical frameworks, sociology of knowledge perspectives, and implications for educational administration programs. Philosophy suggests the best source of knowledge in a field as diverse as…

Examines student and teacher attitudes toward student brinkmanship, behavior that challenges the authority system of the school while avoiding negative sanctions, and discusses possible consequences of student brinkmanship for the school's social system. (Author)