Criteria are set forth for a philosophy that could contribute to advancement in educational administration. Three broad areas are covered: (1) the ideas and methods of educational administration; (2) communication and verification in the field; and (3) values and the normative side of education. (TE)

The author argues that particular theories tend to harmonize with certain values and beliefs and to clash with others. Further, theories may reflect the dominant values of a certain culture or a time, not to mention those of individual theorists or groups of theorists. In exploring the nonscientific side of certain theories, the author begins by…

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…

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

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…

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…

Domains of inquiry, values, and practice as they bear upon educational institutions are considered. Various junctures within and among the domains are described, and it is contended that integration is desirable. In analyzing the nature of disjunctures, special attention is given the character of educational organizations and their settings.…

Schools' characteristics obstruct reform because teacher and student norms and values are at variance with one another. Because most reforms gobble teacher time, reduce teacher autonomy, and disturb current routines, they frequently fail. Chances for success will improve when context or reforms directly addressing organizational features are…

The hypothesis that teacher pupil control ideology-behavior congruence would be positively related to teacher job satisfaction was tested. The rationale for the hypothesis was that teachers whose beliefs and behaviors concerning pupil control were consistent would be likely to be contented with their work. Pupil control was seen as a central…