Reconceptualizing Training for Educational Administrators and Leaders: Focus on Inquiry. Improving the Preparation of School Administrators, Notes on Reform No. 2

Despite certain challenges to current practice, little attention has been given to the importance of training educational administrators in research as a process of inquiry. In fact, the inquiry process should be at the core of graduate training for all school administrators. The National Commission on Excellence in Educational Administration specifically recommended that university professors emphasize "theoretical and clinical knowledge, applied research, and supervised practice," but did not specify how such a charge should be addressed. This paper examines some assumptions shaping current university training that may undercut attempts to create truly clinical administrator preparation programs. Among current expectations that impede stronger clinical orientations in university programs are: (1) lack of rigorous training in research, especially applied research; (2) the traditional academic mode of inquiry prevalent in most doctoral programs; (3) the outcomes of inquiry expected by these programs; (4) the institutional rewards and norms for faculty; and (5) the traditional structures of teaching and learning that influence faculty and therefore students. For student-practitioners, traditional research training programs emphasizing theory-building or empirical explanations are probably inappropriate and intellectually disabling. An alternative model recognizing the legitimacy of the practitioner orientation and geared to an experiential, problem-solving process is necessary. Recommendations are given concerning unresolved research training issues. (47 references) (MLH)