The practical legacy of the educational administration field: probing into authors’ implications for policy-makers, leaders and trainers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the current paper was to trace the practical contribution of empirical papers appeared in the field’s major journals. More specifically, the review posed two questions: (1) what kinds of practical messages are provided in the field’s empirical works? (2) Who are the practitioners that EA field researchers address in their practical implications? For this review, I read and analyzed empirical articles published between 2011 and 2016 in four refereed journals pertaining to the field of educational administration. The reviewing methodology was Qualitative Content Analysis because a journal paper is considered as a document susceptible to textual analysis. This analysis yielded four themes of practical recommendations: suggestions for policy-makers and reformers, suggestions for pre-service and in-service trainings for principals and even for teachers, suggestions for principals and stakeholders and broad educational suggestions in the areas of higher education and teaching. Understanding the practical contribution of the research on educational administration and leadership may shed light on the applied knowledge base in the field and its empirical orientations.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

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Izhar Oplatka

Izhar Oplatka is a professor of Educational Administration and Leadership at The School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Israel and the head of the dept. of Educational Policy and Administration.  Prof. Oplatka’s research focuses on the lives and career of school teachers and principals, educational marketing, emotions and educational administration, and the foundations of educational administration as a field of study.