A REACTION TO “TOWARD ADMINISTRATIVE PHILOSOPHIES”
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009846 |
| Date | 01 February 1981 |
| Pages | 177-184 |
| Published date | 01 February 1981 |
| Author | D.B. HATCHARD,D. ROSS |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XIX, NUMBER 2 SUMMER 1981
A REACTION TO "TOWARD ADMINISTRATIVE
PHILOSOPHIES"
D.B.
HATCHARD AND D. ROSS
This paper constitutes the reaction of an administrator and of a theoretician to
Hannah's attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice in Educational
Administration. (Journal of Educational Administration. Vol. XVIII, No. 1. July,
1980.
pp. 114-131.) The authors find that, overall, Hannah's approach toward the
development of philosophies leading to a more humane administrative style is
disappointing. His psychological naivety and philosophically obfuscatory approach
leave the practitioner still searching for solutions to everyday administrative
problems.
INTRODUCTION
The dichotomy existing between theory and practice in Educational
Administration is a perennial problem. The work of Argyris and Schön1
goes some way towards bridging the gap by comparing theories-in-use
with espoused theories. It was hoped that Hannah's "Toward
Administrative Philosophies"2 would provide further guidance to the
theoretician and the administrator. This was not the case. Now while the
present authors found the article "a challenging think-piece"3 and one
reflecting Hannah's sincere effort to help, they were disappointed with the
article as it offered little help to them in their respective areas of interest
(one a theoretician, the other an administrator). What they found was, as
Hannah himself admits, "one person's thinking about some aspects of the
dilemma",4 and that this thinking was far from clear.
The present authors, after making some general comments, criticize
Hannah's article on the grounds of psychological naivety and of
philosophical obfuscation.
GENERAL COMMENTS
Hannah's article demonstrates his deep concern with the development of
philosophies which will lead administrators to adopt more humane styles
of administration. He regards the philosophical tradition of positivistic
social science as inadequate to guide the practitioner in the performance of
DESMOND B. HATCHARD and DAVID ROSS who are both completing the M.Ed.Admin.
degree at the University of New England, teach and administer at the Bendigo College of
Advanced Education.
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