The purpose of this paper was to conduct a critical analysis of the origins and implementation of problem‐based learning in educational administration as a window into the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to conduct a critical analysis of the origins and implementation of problem‐based learning in educational administration as a window into the limitations of this approach and more generally administrator preparation.
Design/methodology/approach
The author reviewed the published work of the originator from 1970‐2009, as well as his preparation program for principals, and evaluated his approach primarily in light of two perspectives, emotional labor and positive emotions. The paper probes the utility of using these sociological and psychological perspectives in studying and understanding the emotional side of administration through interviews with principals.
Findings
The major finding of this analysis was to question whether sufficient attention is being paid to the emotional aspects of administration in problem‐based learning in particular and administrator preparation programs more generally. The analysis reveals several areas where more attention should be paid, and provides some insight into the nature of mental and emotional labor of principals.
Originality/value
The paper combines two theoretical approaches in a novel way to raise a series of questions that can be used to evaluate programs for preparing administrators in terms of a critical, but for the most part neglected, area – the emotional side of administration. For those who choose to incorporate this facet of administration into their preparation program, the author describes an approach that might be used.
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The concept of instructional leadership has been frequently discussed but rarely subjected to any rigorous analysis. In this paper four current views of instructional…
Abstract
The concept of instructional leadership has been frequently discussed but rarely subjected to any rigorous analysis. In this paper four current views of instructional leadership—those of the principal as evaluator, helper, Integrator and designer—are examined and the assumptions about human nature, skills, and knowledge underlying each of these views are identified. Following a critique of these assumptions, the author describes a “principal‐as‐experimenter” role which he maintains is a viable notion of instructional leadership given the present state of knowledge and the organizational necessity for informed decision‐making.
In the past case studies have been viewed principally as instructional tools for developing particular skills. Consequently the cases have been limited to the “issue” and…
Abstract
In the past case studies have been viewed principally as instructional tools for developing particular skills. Consequently the cases have been limited to the “issue” and “descriptive” variety. In the future considerable attention should be given to the case study as a research tool. In this regard, “substantive” cases dealing with social science concepts or advanced field practices represent a fruitful area for case development. Cases of all types will need to have immediate relevance to the current problems of practitioners, to cover a wide range of problems, roles, organizational types and environments and to seek to advance knowledge in a systematic way. There is a need for the classification of available cases and for preparation of many more cases, especially of the substantive type, perhaps by graduate students in the universities.
Allan Walker, Edwin Bridges and Benjamin Chan
Describes and analyses an initial attempt to introduce problem‐based learning (PBL) into a Chinese cultural setting. Discusses some of the tensions between the philosophy of PBL…
Abstract
Describes and analyses an initial attempt to introduce problem‐based learning (PBL) into a Chinese cultural setting. Discusses some of the tensions between the philosophy of PBL and the culture in which the authors used this innovative approach to leadership education. Further describes the strategies which the authors employed to address these underlying tensions and the reactions of the students to their first encounter with PBL. Examines possible cultural influences on the behaviour patterns the authors observed while the students attempted to solve the problem presented in the problem‐based learning materials. Whether these behaviours facilitate or hinder task accomplishment and group productivity remains an important area for further study.
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Melinda Van Wingen and Abigail Bass
This paper aims to explore the relationship between historiography and archival practices. It takes the new social history approach to history as a case study for examining how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the relationship between historiography and archival practices. It takes the new social history approach to history as a case study for examining how historians' changing theories and methods may affect solicitation, acquisition, appraisal, arrangement, description, reference, outreach, and other aspects of archival administration.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a review of the archival and historical literature since the late 1970s.
Findings
The paper finds that many aspects of archival administration have been and continue to be affected by the new social history trend in historical scholarship. The paper suggests that archivists and archival educators be trained in historiography as a way to understand historians' craft and develop strong documentation strategies to anticipate future archival needs.
Research limitations/implications
Because the paper is primarily a literature review, it does not test real‐life examples or case studies that would be useful in understanding the relationship between historians and archivists.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the development of archival administration and education strategies.
Originality/value
The paper draws from a range of literature to consider the impact of scholarly practices on professional archival work.
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This study attempted to clarify the relationship of power of school heads and participation of English teachers in school decisions. A deliberate sample of eight schools was drawn…
Abstract
This study attempted to clarify the relationship of power of school heads and participation of English teachers in school decisions. A deliberate sample of eight schools was drawn from the schools in the northwest of England. The major criteria for selection were: size (medium to large); location(urban‐suburban and reasonably accessible from Manchester); and representatives of the types of schools found in that geographic area. A descriptive analysis indicated that English teachers do perceive themselves participating in most decision areas. At a second level of analysis the relationship between status and intensity of participation was computed with r = .544 for the 103 members of staff (p<.001). An implication is that competence is a criterion for status position, leading to involvement and hence power in the social system. The final analysis dealt with implications of use of power from a description of participation patterns. The clusterings found lend credence to the belief that English heads are controlling those areas of power where tangible rewards and punishments are evident. They appear to be supporting participatory management in such other areas as those where teachers do not desire involvement or those which carry minimal expenditure of organizational resources.
In the United States in 1957 a fresh intellectual excitement emerged within the field of educational administration; high hopes were held for the potential contribution of…
Abstract
In the United States in 1957 a fresh intellectual excitement emerged within the field of educational administration; high hopes were held for the potential contribution of theory‐oriented research. But in retrospect from 1967 the promise of the decade does not appear to have been fulfilled. Vast Federal funding has proven to be only a mixed blessing. An obsessional preoccupation with “change” has diverted efforts away from basic research, has induced intellectual homogenization within the academic community, and has bombarded administrators with so many exigencies that their planning efforts have been increasingly concentrated upon short‐term perspectives, at best. Never before have politics, education and welfare been commingled so incestuously. Four serious concerns that must now be dealt with in our graduate programs are: the mythology of human motivations; the juggernant of “the Technological Society”; the mythology of change; and the impact of existentialism upon modern man.
In 1991, through a series of accidents I found myself – an American academic from Vanderbilt University – located in Chiang Mai, a small city in Northern Thailand. I had chosen…
Abstract
In 1991, through a series of accidents I found myself – an American academic from Vanderbilt University – located in Chiang Mai, a small city in Northern Thailand. I had chosen Chiang Mai University as the site for a Fulbright Fellowship working with their Department of Educational Administration. During the course of the Fulbright Fellowship, which lasted 7 months, I was initiated into a world of schools that was different from what I had known as a teacher, school administrator, and scholar in the USA.
K. GEORGE PEDERSEN and THOMAS FLEMING
As the ever‐changing social matrix affects all public institutions, so does it affect the public school. In fact, because of the school's unique status as the repository of our…
Abstract
As the ever‐changing social matrix affects all public institutions, so does it affect the public school. In fact, because of the school's unique status as the repository of our collective aspirations and its accessibility to the general public, the school frequently becomes the central agent in the drama of larger social change. By assuming the role as mediator between present and developing values, the school in effect sponsors its own institutional transformation. Against a background of emerging social trends, this paper attempts to explore a number of such transformations and the pedagogical “futures” which they suggest. Specifically, this discussion centres on the administration of public education in Canada, and to a lesser extent that of the United States. For the most part, focus is directed at separating administrative characteristics which might be labelled “constants”—that is, those that are unlikely to change over time—from an array of other organizational elements which are likely to experience profound revision (for example, the role of the principal). As might be expected, this is a speculative venture.