School Administration As A Craft

This collection is a representative set of ten of the key papers which Thomas Greenfield, arguably the doyen of contemporary theories of educational administration, has published over the last twenty years. His writings as they appear are eagerly sought after and studied by scholars, students and practitioners in Britain and across the English-speaking world, but are not always readibly available individually. The collection charts the development of Greenfield's views of social reality as human invention, and explores strands of argument on the nature of knowledge, on admininstrative theory and research, on values, on the limits of science and the importance of human subjectivity, truth and reality. The volume is concluded by a discussion between Greenfield and Peter Ribbins, which reflects on Greenfield's career and elaborates on the range of his complex and often controversial ideas.

This book makes a much needed contribution to what we know about the role and work of the assistant principal. It offers terri c insights into the different challenges one faces after being appointed assistant principal, and it provides readers with a rich array of data regarding the mental, emotional, social, and physical adjustments accompanying one’s transition to this new role. The author refreshingly moves beyond mere description of what assistant prin- pals do as they make their transition to that role, and actually helps us gain a sense of the lived experience of becoming and being an assistant principal. The book gives a realistic picture of the cognitive, social, and emotional con icts and confusions, the daily ups and downs, the fears, frustrations, and highs that are experienced by the men and women undertaking the passage from teaching to administration. This book is distinctive for a number of reasons. It is an empirical study of the role of the assistant principal. There are comparatively few helpful studies, and P- fessor Armstrong’s research adds a solid and much needed addition to that body of work. It focuses on the transition from being a teacher to being an assistant prin- pal, and it reveals much about how the assistant principal’s role transition differs markedly from that of the school principal.

This book draws on recent empirical research and reports unique insight into the craft of public administration of the most senior echelons of the Australian Public Service (APS).This work is set in the context of a comparative analysis of the significant public sector reforms by successive governments from the 1980s across Westminster polities. Such reforms and the contemporary management ideas on which they were based, including new managerialism and ‘new public management’ (NPM) travelled, were translated and transformed with some elements accepted and others rejected. This book addresses how the most senior public servants in the APS construct their craft today amid such reforms. Chapter two covers the myriad of public sector reforms across Westminster polities. Chapters three and four cover the environments and contemporary management ideas which influence public administration. Chapters five and six showcase the public actors and the responsibilities they execute when they construct their craft. The final chapter provides a conceptual model of the craft of public administration and provides implications for theory and practice.

This concise and current text introduces readers to the dynamics of the public sector with a down-to-earth style. All new case studies link theory to the real-world practice of public administration.

Intended for educators who are studying school administration, this book is about the professional practice in superintendency. The text provides both theoretical and practical insights into the evolving responsibilities associated with being the chief executive officer of a school system. The subject of school administration is treated as a science and a craft involving professional artistry, and the position is examined in relation to challenges and potential frustrations and accomplishments.