1. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Study Questions
1.) Discuss historical and legal changes in
educational policy since the 1950’s
which you see as reflecting core
American, democratic values.
2.) Regarding educational leadership on any
level, interpret the statement quoted in
Guthrie, “Power tends to corrupt, and
absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
Refer in your essay to specific moral,
legal and ethical issues in educational
leadership centering on resource use, use
of position to promote personal financial
or other aims, separation of authority
relationships, etc.
3.) Discuss the introduction of scientific
management techniques and the
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2. importation of these from business into
education settings.
4.) Discuss key attributes of educational
policy: historical, economic, sociological,
philosophical, ethical, moral and legal
perspectives.
5.) Explain the statement “Education cannot
be considered apolitical” in the context of
this summary.
6.) Explain the statement, “Education is a
moral undertaking” in the context of this
summary.
Discussion
According to Fowler, the term ‘policy’ derives from political science.
Fowler offers several definitions of ‘policy’ but the most recent she gives is:
“[Public policy] includes both official enactments of government, not simply
what the government does” (Cibulka quoted in Fowler 2000, p. 8). Other
definitions are given and include that it is ‘the expressed intentions…of
government’, the ‘outputs of a political system’, a ‘chain of decisions’, and
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3. ‘substantive decisions, actions, and commitments’. All of these represent
various perspectives on the definition of policy. Fowler notes that leadership
and policy formation come through talk in its various forms.
The following areas are important to become familiar with in regard
to policy: historical, economic, sociological, philosophical, ethical, moral
and legal perspectives.
Historical perspective suggests that policy analysis began at the turn
of the last century, but did not come into its own until after World War II. At
this time the U.S. government, notably the departments of State and Labor
began employing economists and statisticians to gather, use and analyze
data. The data were the basis for recommendations on their findings
((Nelson, 1991; Weimer & Vining, 1992, in Fowler, p. 18). The War on
Poverty expanded the role of policy makers in education and other
government branches. Education policy first began to be analyzed using the
ERIC database between 1969-1981. Policy analysis offers a variety of
frameworks for government to use to think about problems and solutions.
Educational policy issues since World War II were marked by two
trends :the post-war era demand for consumer goods, and a boom of
students. The school population exploded from 30 to 52 million with a
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4. concomitant expansion in building, raising taxes, and teacher employment.
In the mid 1950s attention turned away from growth as a major issue and
toward civil rights, especially with the Brown vs. Board decision, 1954.
(Please see websites for a detailed accounting of major court cases affecting
education.) Federal intervention and programs expanded in the 60s, and
finance reform came about in the 70s. There was continued emphasis
through these means on providing equality. Equality became a major value
and focus for concern in the post war era. Social justice issues centered on
race, ethnicity, access to services and the defeat of segregation (Brown
decision). Access to education for handicapped students (Education for All
Handicapped Children Act or ESEA, 1975) became a major movement in
education. Bilingual education proclaimed the right to instruction in their
home language for non-English or limited English students in the Lau v
Nichols case. Migrant education federal and state governments have enacted
financial categorical aid programs to assist moving families.
Beyond the major court cases, were developments in society which
affected education––some of these having to do with events beyond U.S.
boundaries, as well as with Cold War issues. In 1957, Sputnik impacted
education in all aspects, affecting finances, curricula, etc., and bringing
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5. about passage of the 1958 National Defense Education Act. In 1966, the
Coleman Report indicated that schools appeared to have little influence on
achievement that was independent of the social backgrounds of individual
students. This lead the public to conclude that schools had no effect and that
school dollars were wasted.
The actors who influenced education came from public, interest
groups, educators, politicians, federal, state and local government and the
three branches within each of these (executive, legislative and judicial).
States have the primary responsibility for education policy. They are
influenced by education and political systems theory (Please see diagram, p.
55).
One political definition on education, provided by Fowler (2000), states that
political culture is a collective way of thinking about politics that includes
beliefs about the political process, its proper goals, and the appropriate
behavior of ‘actors’ within political institutions. Political systems on the
other hand are sets of formal structures and laws. Guthrie, (p.210) discusses
regional preferences regarding education––indicating that diverse regions of
the U.S. and Canada stress different values. (See chart p. 210, please for
detail on regional values.)
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6. There are three basic political cultures in the U.S. They are traditional
(the state of Texas, other Southern states are identified with this one),
moralistic (includes Utah and other Western states) and individualistic
(New York, other east coast states).
Education, money and politics are bound together, such that education
accounts for 7% of the national budget, touches 60 million students and
inculcates values––thus it cannot be considered apolitical (Guthrie, p. 54).
Political systems theory (Guthrie, p. 56) indicates that schools process
inputs (public resources) and outputs tied to societal expectations
(socialized students).Systems ‘loop’ supports and demands in a circular
conversion process. (See diagram., p. 56.)
Practical politics (p. 81) for school administrators indicate that it
would be prudent to know political relationships in your district, employ an
eclectic approach in determining the power structure, read in a variety of
sources, avoid pre-conceptions about patterns of relationships, take into
account vertical and horizontal patterns of influence, and be mindful or
federal and state laws and events as well as of local issues.
Max Weber’s theories on bureaucracy are highly respected and
frequently cited. He identified 3 types of authority (Guthrie, p. 193)
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7. classified as follows. Traditional authority reflects the social order, and is
not readily changed. Charismatic authority rests on devotion to a particular
leader and ideals s/he represents. Rational-legal authority rests on belief in
the supremacy of law (i.e., Constitutional law). Weber defined ‘bureaucracy’
as a rational administrative system for the effective management of complex
organizations (Guthrie, p. 191) (Please see chart page 192.) Fowler identifies
types of power including force, economic dominance, authority and
persuasion (Fowler, 2000, p. 31).
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8. Guthrie, (pp. 232-239) states that leadership effectiveness depends on
leadership traits such as need for achievement, self-confidence, need for
socialized power, desire to compete with peers, high energy, persuasiveness,
technical and other skills. “Power influence” is determined, according to
Etzioni, mentioned in Guthrie, by the means for securing compliance
(physical, material or symbolic). Weber held that power is separate and
distinguishable from authority, and power amounts to a leader’s being in a
position to carry out her/his own will despite resistance, whereas authority
derives from law. French and Raven provide five sources of power: reward,
coercive, legitimate (authority vested in a position) and expert power. The
behavioral approach appears in an Ohio University study, producing two
classifications, namely, ‘initiating structure’ and ‘consideration’. Likert
identified “job-centered” and “employee-centered” behavioral approaches.
Cartwrith and Zander looked at ‘goal achievement’ (Guthrie, p. 234).
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9. Contingency theorists claim that effective leadership is a function of
interaction of behavior style and situational variables. Fiedler identifies task
and relationship orientation as defining effectiveness. Hersey and Blanchard
tie leadership to maturity levels with telling, selling, participating and
delegating representing points along the leadership-maturity continuum. The
transformational leadership approach refers to motivating others to higher
levels than they formerly believed they could achieve. In contrast to the
‘supernatural’ qualities of charismatic leaders, transformers may be
charismatic, but also possess strong vision (Bennis & Nannus).
Guthrie (p. 232) defines the actions and attributes of leaders who will
effectively create policy as follows: Decision-making is “…the process
through which a plan for action is selected from at least two alternatives.
Decision-making involves several steps, including specifying the problem,
analyzing its components, developing strategies or alternatives for resolving
the problem, selecting the best alternative, developing and implementing an
action plan, evaluating effectiveness of the plan, and recycling as necessary
(Guthrie, 1991, p. 241).”
Characteristics of school bureaucracy include the following (Guthrie,
p. 194) separation of authority relationships, and fixed division of labor.
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10. Within these relationships, professional personnel, who are selected on the
basis of technical knowledge follow implicit rules governing their
performance, and know and act upon the expectation that personnel are
separated from official property and means of production. Hence, there is no
such thing as “my office” or “my teachers”.
Philosophical perspectives include the important one that public
schools serve dozens of purposes, and it is more important that they be
educationally effective than efficient, according to Guthrie. Further,
education continues to be more craft than science. The core value in
resources of time, money, effort allocation should be to identify that an
activity is “useful”––and then that is conducted in a cost-effective manner.
Tyack and Callahan have discussed economic perspectives in terms of
the “cult of efficiency” in education, an early 20th
century phenomenon that
continues into the present day. The idea was that the introduction of
scientific management principles would legitimize schools in the same sense
as business activities were legitimized. Patterning education after business
models continues today, hence, ‘accountability’.
Leadership traits include the following characteristics that are related
to morality and ethics, in combination with efficiency, as against mere
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11. expediency: to serve clients effectively, and above all to have a sense of
purpose that leaders and followers can articulate. It involves defining and
being able to undertake the steps needed to accomplish goals for the
organization. Vision involves the way the leader expresses the vision, and
incorporates it into the culture of the organization (Guthrie, 1991, pp. 11-
12).
Integrity refers to honesty and fairness and being forthcoming with,
rather than withholding the truth. “Education is a moral undertaking”
(Guthrie, 1991, p. 14). Integrity in educational administration means being
free of deceit, and mindful that resources, be they human, material, or
resources of influence, are related to the public trust, and therefore not to be
exploited for personal gain, or for the gain of associates, or of family
members.
A key component of leadership and policymaking is the ability of a
leader to assess and appraise policies and procedures––and strategic
leadership necessitates appraisal (measurement). Appraisal is a task of
measurement and judgment, which are related to ethical and moral
considerations. Appraisal in policy making has external dimensions
including such factors as demographics, economics, public opinion, and
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12. socio-political dynamics all of which are classified as internal dimensions.
External dimensions include such dimensions as finances, employee morale,
outcome measurement, process measures, operational costs, and
organizational structures. These are the factors of appraisal, key activities in
the policy making process. Appraisal and policy and decision making are
predicated on the personality of the leader, and Fowler quotes Lord Acton,
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Fowler
adds that power is addictive.(Fowler, 2000, p.47). Corruption refers back to
issues of integrity, ethics and morality in the use of resources, as well as in
the reporting of success and failure.
Also under the rubric of moral/ethicical issues, activities related to
appraisal are included the topic of public values and school policy (detailed
on pg 26 of Guthrie). The values of equality, liberty and efficiency are
viewed as conditions that government should maximize, by an
overwhelming majority of citizens. These are embedded in our heritage, and
thought ‘good’ and ‘right’––value judgments.
Legal aspects of education are tied to judicial review, meaning that
judges can declare laws and policies unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is
one of the most powerful courts in the world––but the power of the fifty
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13. state court systems should not be overlooked State courts are particularly
active in the domain of public education as they make policy and have wide-
ranging importance. State courts have great power in the area of school
finance. Politically, legislators do not mind judges making unpopular
decisions because such decisions cannot hurt legislators in their next
campaign, according to Fowler, p. 85.
Courts play their role in political culture, which consists of “artifacts”
of the mindset distinguishing one society from another in terms of “the way
we do things here…” Political culture is a form of culture in which societies
express views and values about goals and good behavior and activities for
politicians (and school administrators). A political system is defined as a set
of formal structures and rules. (Fowler, 2000). An ideology is a coherent set
of values and beliefs about the ways social, political and economic systems
should be organized, and this applies to schools as well.
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14. Their activities have increased in recent decades to promote changes
that they regard as in their interest. For an issue to move from an “interest”
to a policy, it must reach the policy agenda, meaning that it must be read
about, discussed, become the subject of conferences, and so on. After much
discussion in the public forum an issue may become a legislative proposal––
a recommendation for a law or policy change.
The value of liberty in education was reflected in the Pierce v. Society
of Sisters decision of 1925, which affirmed the right of parents to chose
between public and private schools. Guthrie notes the mandatory nature of
schooling and states that school choice is the ‘proxy’ for liberty. Post War
schooling has emphasized liberty through diversity, client responsiveness,
and expansion of private choice of schooling. (Guthrie, pp. 34-35).
Educational planning and decision making have aspects and
dimensions which are impacted by economics, obviously directly tied to
resource allocation which is based on past experience, future projected and
and present (changing) dynamics. Guthrie, (pp. 258-277) notes three main
components which are planning (future oriented) and evaluation (past and
present oriented), with budgeting as the ‘bridge’ between them. Fowler notes
that economic decisions have political implications (Fowler, 2000, p. 58)
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15. Changes in demographics, such as women entering the work force in the
Baby Boom generation, and the rise of teen-age employment have impacted
education and educational policy. There is the obvious decline in parental
time with children, but also older sibling time with younger children has
declined.
Planning is a management process, which reduces uncertainty and
focuses organizational activities to use resources effectively, via a strategic
plan, defined as a strategy to arrive at a specific goal. A managerial plan
aims at problem solving using a multiplicity of approaches, employing
alternative strategies. Following implementation of plans, assessment comes
into play. There are several paradigms containing useful planning
techniques:
PERT stands for planning, evaluation, and review and comes out of
the navy. It is useful for managing large scale, multi-stage processes.
Linear programming, a form of resource allocation planning, is used
where one factor is to be optimized or minimized while others are held
constant.
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16. Queuing theory deals with time spent in various situations, averages,
and its use reveals assumptions of administrators, i.e., how much time is
“too long” to wait for a school bus.
Computer simulation models impute order to reality by positing
relationships between things and events. Deterministic models are set up
such that similar inputs always produce similar outputs. Stochastic models
deal with random events (as have occurred recently on a national level).
Definitions
Public policy includes both official enactments of government, not simply
what the government does.
An ideology is a coherent set of values and beliefs about the ways social,
political and economic systems should be organized, and this applies to
schools as well.
Political culture is a collective way of thinking about politics that includes
beliefs about the political process, its proper goals, and the appropriate
behavior of ‘actors’ within political institutions.
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17. Political systems are sets of formal structures and laws.
Traditional authority reflects the social order, and is not readily changed.
Charismatic authority rests on devotion to a particular leader and ideals s/he
represents.
Rational-legal authority rests on belief in the supremacy of law (i.e.,
Constitutional law.
Appraisal is a task of measurement and judgment.
Bureaucracy is a rational administrative system for the effective
management of complex organizations.
Fowler identifies types of power including force, economic dominance,
authority and persuasion (Fowler, 2000, p. 31).
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18. Decision-making is the process through which a plan for action is selected
from at least two alternatives.
Interest groups are associations, usually formally organized, attempting to
influence public policy.
The following is a list of websites that are useful for understanding
aspects of public policy as they relate to educational leadership:
The Educational Policy Analysis Archives provide full text articles
dating from the years between 1993-2001. They are full-text, and deal with
significant court cases.
http://olam.ed.asu.edu/epaa/
The Center on Educational Policy
http://www.ctredpol.org/
The Texas Legislator On-Line website is
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/edtoc.html
On this site, see chapters 1-46 for school law cases.
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19. Resources
Duke, D .L . & Canady, R . L . (1991). School policy. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Fowler, F . C . (2000) . Policy studies for educational leaders: an
introduction . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Guthrie, J . W . & Reed, R .J . (1991).Educational administration and policy:
effective leadership for American education. Boston, MA: Allyn and
Bacon .
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