1.3 K-12 leadership and the educational administration curriculum  (Page 7/14)

The field began the twentieth century with a focus on applied knowledge, increased emphasis on the developmentof professional knowledge throughout the first half of the century and then embraced academic training at mid-century. The training ofeducational administrators was now, conceptually, a three way framework of practice, professional knowledge, and academicscholarship. The problem for the profession was in attaining a balance that served both those in practice and those in theprofessoriate, including the professional organizations associated with each. The debate over balance in preparation programsintensified. The last fifty years has seen one long conversation circling around relevance, knowledge base, research, relevance,theory development, scholarly activity, and relevance.

Culbertson (1964) wrote in the National Society for the Study of Education’s publication Behavioral Scienceand Educational Administration, “During this century, growth in preparatory programs for administrators has been matched by thedevelopment of significant foundations for a science of administration” (p. 329). Haskew, in a later chapter of the sametext addressed the scientific and theory based field of educational administration that was then emerging as “clearly distinguishablefrom mere extension of precedent patterns” that characterized the profession through the first decades of its existence as auniversity program of study (p. 333). He outlined the basic frame of future programs where:

The ideational core of response is the conscious application of intelligence and inquiry to administrationas a specialized function of institutionalized education. Collateral with the core is strong support of the method of scienceas the method of inquiry and for the creation of a theory-based discipline to undergird the art-science of professional practice ofthe school administrator. (p. 334)

Culbertson’s (1964) summary of change in the profession during the mid 1950’s is instructive as to howeducational administration would be reoriented around the behavioral sciences.

More recently, the ‘new science’ of administration has contributed significantly to a researchorientation in preparatory programs by clearly distinguishing between values and facts, by developing more adequate theories toencompass the complex variables in administration, and by recognizing the major significance of a multidisciplinary approachto the study of administration. (p. 310)

The Future of Educational Administration: What Educational Leaders Should Know and Do

Today the field of educational administration is fragmented by its own fractured approach to educationaladministration program improvement. The field is now in the spotlight, with the rest of education, because of the central roleit plays in adjusting to the future. It appears that educational administration programs, our universities, and K-12 educators willremain in this spotlight due to the critical role education plays in the social and economic well being of this, and every other,nation. There is great pressure from universities to show value added student outcomes given these programs are an extension of thestate. It is clear in the first decade of the twenty-first century that government has come to expect measurable outcomes and improvedstudent achievement from teachers and educational administrators. A practical orientation to training can only carry the schooladministrator to a limited level of knowledge, skill, and understanding. Most would agree it is not enough to lead educationinto the future.