Organizational Character of Education: Administrative Behavior

Abstract

THE CENTRAL motif of recent research regarding administrative behavior may be stated, This study is based on a theoretical construct from the social sciences. Familiar counterpoint themes that recur with striking regularity relate to development and use of theory in administration, operation of the organization, organizational roles, measurement of personality variables, study of cultural and individual values, and assessment of leadership. Refreshing recent directions include increased emphasis on organizational change, analysis of interpersonal perception, and renewed interest in the administrative process. It is in terms of the foregoing themes that the research in this chapter is organized and reviewed. Development and Use of Theory The literature regarding the development and use of theory in administration has been enriched immeasurably during the past three years. In the sixty-third yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (1964), Behavioral Science and Educational Administration, there is given both a description and an interpretation of recent theoretical developments, which should be of great value not only for researchers but also for practitioners of educational administration. Major sections of this valuable book provide historical perspective, new scientific bases of administration, and implications of new scientific bases for the profession and for education. If by no criterion other than volume of completed research, the theory of administration as a social process by Getzels (1958) continues to represent the most useful theory in the field of educational administration. As originally predicted, this theory has undergone substantial changes in light