Educational Administration Research: From Modern To Postmodern

This academic dissertation is mainly about educational administration research from modern perspective to postmodern perspective. This study theme is of great significance. Through the modern perspective and the postmodern perspective can the research foundations, the theory characteristics, and especially the basic assumptions behind the educational administration research be easily revealed. In the mean time, this study theme, especially the postmodern perspective to view educational administration is still absent in our country.The main parts of the dissertation can be divided into four chapters.In chapter 1, the author analyses modernism and postmodernism by contrast. The basic assumptions of the modernism and postmodernism constitute the foundation of the dissertation.In chapter 2, the author reviews the history of the modern educational administration research and analyses it from the bases of the theories, the research characteristics and the basic assumptions behind the educational administration research. Besides, the reviewing and analyzing of the modern educational administration research set up a goal that postmodern educational administration can criticize and rethink.Because the theoretical developments in educational administration parallel those in the broad field of administration, the author think that the modern theories of educational administration include the classical administration theories, human relations theory, behavior science. Of course, the modern theories also include the "scientific theory" of educational administration that "theory movement" seek to set up. The modern theories of educational administration, holding the rationalism (especially instrumental rationalism), scientism and positivism, are characterized by some underlying patterns of logic, order, effectiveness, and rationalism. Once the underlying laws and logic were made manifested and described, people could take effective measures for educational administration. And the laws and logic could be discovered only by using the "scientific" method that was quantified, measured, objective and preferably under carefully controlled conditions.In charter 3, the author probes into the backgrounds and contents of the postmodern educational administration theories. There are some valuable and original ideas different from those of the modern educational administration theories. Forexample, Thomas. B. Greenfield brings forward Subjectivism Theory about organization, which believes that organization is social reality made of human beings. Hodgkinson, who think administration is the philosophy of act, mainly discusses the philosophy and values of leadership and administration. Charles J. Fazzaro and others critique the ideology of "techno-science" and regard education administration as a moral/ethical practice. Michel Foucault's ideas about power, which think power is productive, relative and linked with knowledge, have greatly influenced the educational administration. Based on the idea that facts are always theory-laden, JamesJoseph Scheurich propose we should adopt social relativism - a postmodernistepistemology for educational administration.In charter 4, the author discusses the enlightenments we can draw from the postmodern theories of educational administration. The theories of Educational administration are multiple, relative and equal. Educational administration research should be based upon the characteristics of the specific educational organizations. We should not only continue to study the facts in the educational administration field, butalso explore the new research fields - the values and ethics. We should set up anopen system with multiple research methods and multiple perspectives in educational administration research. Besides, we should recognize that the truth is contextualizational. The above-mentioned inspirations are valuable to our educational administration research.Besides, the author puts forward the dangers that may come from the postmodern research of educational adm...