Introduction: Education, ethics, and the “cult of efficiency”: implications for values and leadership
| Pages | 132-136 |
| Date | 01 April 2004 |
| Published date | 01 April 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230410525568 |
| Author | Paul T. Begley,Jacqueline A. Stefkovich |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Introduction
Education, ethics, and the
“cult of efficiency”: implications for
values and leadership
Paul T. Begley and Jacqueline A. Stefkovich
Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
Keywords Leadership, Ethics, Decision making, Value analysis, Conflict
Abstract In 1962, historian Raymond E. Callahan argued that American educators had allowed
themselves to become overly enchanted by Taylorite notions of scientific management and had
adopted the techniques of the business-industrial world, to the detriment of the nation’s students.
Callahan’s Education and the Cult of Efficiency not only offered a new and bold interpretation of
the history of education in the twentieth century, but it also coined a phrase that continues to
represent the constant struggle faced by educators as they seek to balance high-quality instructional
practices with external calls for accountability that often come from corporate and public leaders.
This special issue of the Journal of Educational Administration (JEA) presents a set of articles
which explore the theme of “Education, Ethics, and the Cult of Efficiency.” The articles that make
up this issue began as papers delivered at the 8th Annual Values and Educational Leadership
Conference held at Pennsylvania State University in October 2003. The essence of our message in
this: The traditional parameters of managerialism and efficiency focused responses to
administrative situations must now be augmented with more creative, sophisticated and
morally defensible approaches to leadership.
In 1962, historian Raymond E. Callahan offered a fierce and piercing critique of
the history of educational administrative practices in the USA. American
educators, Callahan argued, had allowed themselves to become overly enchanted
by Taylorite notions of scientific management and had adopted the techniques of
the business-industrial world, to the detriment of the nation’s students.
Callahan’s Education and the Cult of Efficiency not only offered a new and bold
interpretation of the history of education in the twentieth century, but it also
coined a phrase that continues to represent the constant struggle faced by
educators as they seek to balance high-quality instructional practices with
external calls for accountability that often come from corporate and public
leaders.
Callahan’s portrait of education in the early twentieth century depicted
educational administrators as leaders vulnerable to the whims and desires of
the business community. In an effort to respond to the critiques of corporate
executives and to cope with the increasingly large numbers of children pouring
into the schools, school leaders became obsessed with efficiency and with
related “scientific” practices, such as child accounting, teacher supervision, and
student testing. Callahan urged his readers to recognize that “the introduction
into education of concepts and practices from fields such as business and
industry can be a serious error. Efficiency and economy – important as they
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
JEA
42,2
132
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 42 No. 2, 2004
pp. 132-136
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/09578230410525568
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