THE THEORY PROBLEM IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
| Pages | 139-149 |
| Date | 01 February 1978 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009792 |
| Published date | 01 February 1978 |
| Author | J.A. RIFFEL |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XVI, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 1978
THE THEORY PROBLEM IN EDUCATIONAL
ADMINISTRATION1
J.A. RIFFEL
The study of educational administration is narrowly conceived and becoming moribund.
It has come to his condition because of an overreliance on, and an uncritical acceptance
of, structural-functionalism as its world view and value freedom, objectivity and
nomothetic analysis as the guiding principles of its inquiries. The recent phenomenological
critique has focussed attention on these matters and has stimulated some debate. This
debate is much needed and to be welcomed, for it opens new avenues for pursuing the
study of educational administration, avenues which may prove to be more productive
than those travelled during the last twenty five years.
INTRODUCTION
What kinds of theories do we want in educational administration?
What underlying assumptions should guide them? How will they help
us to understand our work and our world, to establish our priorities, and
to define our sense of what is possible and what is desirable?
These questions, though usually neglected and seldom answered
explicitly, have been of critical importance in the development of
educational administration as a field of
study.
They provided the impetus
for the so-called "theory movement" in the field during the 1950's and
the early 1960's. These same questions underlie current criticisms of the
field.2
The purpose of this essay is twofold: to review the history of
educational administration as a field of study and to examine some of
the implications of this history for future developments in the field. My
intentions are frankly provocative—to encourage those who study educa-
tional administration to examine the assumptions that guide their work
and to engage them in a debate about needed and possible future
developments in the field.
This essay examines four main themes. The first concerns the meaning
and uses of theory in educational administration. The second considers
the origins of the theory movement in educational administration and
suggests some of its major consequences for the field of study. The third
deals with some emergent criticisms of theoretical studies in educational
J. ANTHONY RIFFEL is Professor and Head, Department of Educational Adminis-
tration, University of Manitoba. He holds the degrees of B.A., M.Ed. (Sakatchewan), and
Ph.D.
(Alta). Positions formerly held by Professor Riffel include Coorodinator of Planning
Studies, Alberta Human Resources Research Council, Secretary-Treasurer of the Manitoba
Educational Research Council and Chairman, Centre for Settlement Studies, University
of Manitoba.
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