The Professional Education of School Administrators

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FO R D H A M U N IV E R SIT Y G R A D U A T E SCHOOL

.May.10th.............. 19.50

This dissertation prepared under my direction by

...... S.ister...Mary..,Kar.Qn...Mso^...S*S.,M-*............... ..

entitled ....

has been accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the .

Degree of...... Doc tor...of...philo sophy......................

(Faculty A d vise r)

£

02i'50M

r

“i

THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OP SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

By SISTER MARY KAREN RISO, R.S.M. B.S. (PORDHAM UNIVERSITY), 1939 M.A; (PORDHAM UNIVERSITY), 1941

DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN -PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OP THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OP DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE DEPARTMENT OP THE SCHOOL OP EDUCATION OP PORDHAM UNIVERSITY

NEW YORK 1950 L.

ProQuest Number: 13846624

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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PAGE

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT......... *

1

»

Introduction*..................................... 1 Statement of the problem*

......

6

Scope of the study*«•••••••••••••*•••..••••*••

7

P

.....

9

Historical development*••*...*..................

11

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Beginnings in general graduate work and graduate school organization.•••••••••••*•••

12

Graduate work in educational administration*.•

14

Development of courses in educational a

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£8

Changing attitudes toward the administrator^ ' f II.

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REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES.......................

31

Studies of college and university offerings in educational a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . .

32

Studies proposing training programs for school administrators...*•••.*•».•.•••.••...•*

4-z

Studies of graduate degrees in education.••••*• III,.

ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION................. School and departmental o r g a n i z a t i o n . •

59 e;q

University school having jurisdiction over graduate education degrees............... . !_

P\Q -i

iii CHAPTER

, PAGE Organized departments of educational administration# ••••♦•#••••••••.•••••*•••••#• • ^ Entrance requirements The educational record

••••••••••••••••#•»

College recommendations#•.#.•#..#.....♦.###.#. 74 The interview##..... Examinat ions•.••••••••••••••*••#••••**•»«••••• Specific provisions for training in administration# ..... ••.••••••.•••••••.#.••.• 88 Majors and minors in educational administration#•••••••.•.•••••••••.#•••••••# Opportunities in preparation for administra­ tive positions#••••••••••••••••••••#•••••••• 82 Graduate degrees in educational administration 21 Degree requirements#••••••••••••••••#••••••••• 88 The problem of pre-service versus in-service training#••••••••••••••••••••#.••»•••....

.107

Apprenticeship programs in school administration# •••••••••••••••••*•••••#•••• #118 Participation of students in school surveys####112 Literature on apprenticeships and school survey experiences#•#•..#..#•#.#••.#•.#♦♦.•##118 Summary IV.

•#.•#.•

••« #H^

FACULTY PERSONNEL IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION....122 Number of faculty members in educational

l

administration.•*•••••••••••••••••••••••••«#•• #12^ •_i

XV

rCHAPTER

PAGE1 Professional ranks of faculty members in educational administration.*. •••■••• .-*

..•*•

Education and experience of faculty members....

1pc; >

127

Highest degrees held by educational administration faculty-.

.... ............ 127

Extent of inbreeding among educational administration -faculty..................... 129 Educational experience of the school administration faculty......./....... ..•••• 1^0 Professional activities of the educational 1®^

administration staff.............. Teaching load of the educational

-I

’Z ' Z

administration faculty.... .v.v. ..■•• •*..... . x Direction of theses and dissertations by the educational administration faculty...... . Publications of the educational administration f

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Nature of research conducted by the educa­ tional administration faculty. •••••••••*•• • 1^® Professional associations Faculty evaluation.

••••••••••••«.• 141 ......

144

Utilization of established standards......... 144 Controversial issues in standards............ 148 Opinions on worth of faculty................. 150 Summary of data and their conformity to L

standards

.............

152 _j

'CHAPTER V.

PAGE]

THE CURRICULUM IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION...... 156 Part I - Data on Curricular Offerings•••»••*••••.* 157 A. Courses in the field of educational administration.

•• 157

Course content in educational administration.. 169 Educational administration.•.•••••••••••••.. 169 Secondary school administration....

174

Techniques and principles of supervision.... 177 School finance

.... •.•••••.•*•..•••••••• 177

Administration of the elementary school..... 181 The school p

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. 184

Supervision of the elementary school........ 186 Public school law.

.. 3.88

Seminar in educational administration....... 188 Supervision of secondary education.......... 192 The administration of teacher personnel.•... 192 The administration of pupil personnel*...... 194 The administration of student _ activities...*'197 7 .... . Public school business administration..

197

Conclusions to section A.••*•••••••••••••••••« 199 B. Courses in the general education field........

204

C. Courses in related fields.....................

208

Conclusions to sections A, B, and C........... 210 D.

Planned programs for the training of school a

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Part II -Evaluation of the Curriculum...••••••• 223 Opinions on the curriculum in educational administration.

230

The issue of broad versus specialized training.•...•••••••••.......................282 O'XK. Developing a standardized program.*........... Summary. VI.

...... ••••••......

••••••••

242

SUMMARY ANDCONCLUSIONS..... Summary........

243

Conclusions.••••.••.•••••••«.....

253

‘ BIBLIOGRAPHY......................

264

APPENDICES.........

a, 279 ...... 289

A. List of Participating Institutions.

B. Literature Used for Evaluation............. C. Q

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LIST OP TABLES

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TABLE I.

Development of Graduate Work and Graduate Schools in Twenty-Pour Universities............

II.

University Divisions which Administer Graduate AQ

Work in Education. IIIrA. Numbers and Percentages of Graduate Schools which

Use the Educational Record and College Recommen­ dations to Select Graduate Students in 78

Education. III-B. Numbers and Percentages of

Graduate Schools

which Use Interviews and Examinations to select Graduate Students in E d u c a t i o n . ^ IV.

Number of Colleges and Universities Offering Graduate Degrees in Education and Educational A

V.

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Number of Schools Specifying Basic Requirements for Graduate Degrees in Educational ......

Administration. VI.

97

Range of Students in Educational Administration Seeking In-Service T

VII.

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Number of Faculty Members in Educational Admi­ nistration within each Professional Rank....... I26

VIII.

Number of Faculty Members in Educational Admi­ nistration Holding each Highest Degree.........-^-2®

IX.

Number of Faculty Members in Educational Admi­ nistration who have held Various Educational

L Positions. •••••••.... .

pagA

TABLE X,

Extent of Participation of Educational Administration Staff in Four Professional Activities.

XI.

140

The Extent to Which the Educational Administration Faculty hold Membership and are Active in Selected Educational O r g a n i z a t i o n s . •

XII.

143

Number of Courses in the Field of Educational Administration Offered in Ninety Graduate Schools.

XIII.

-161

Number of Graduate Schools Offering the Fourteen Most Common Courses in the Field of Educational Administration and Number of Different Topics Covered in each Course.••••••••••••••»..••••»••.

XIV.

Topics Covered in Eighty-Eight Courses in Educational Administration.•••••••••••••••••...•

XV.

Topics Covered in Sixty-Six -Courses in Secondary School Administration.••••••••••••••••••••••••••

XVI.

Topics Covered in Forty-Four Courses in the Techniques and Principles of Supervision........

XVII. XVIII.

Topics Covered in Forty Courses in School Finance. Topics Covered in Thirty-Nine Courses in the Administration of the Elementary School. •••.•••••

XIX.

Topics Covered in Thirty-Nine Courses in the School Plant......

XX.

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185

Topics Covered in Thirty-Eight Courses in the 1 o ty

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Supervision of the Elementary School............

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IX p a g e "1

‘t a b l e

XXI.

Topics Covered in Thirty-Pour Courses in Public School Law.............

XXII.

189

Topics Covered in Thirty-Pour Seminars in Educational Administration.••••••»•••••••••.• -^90

XXIII.

Topics Covered in Thirty-Three Courses in the Supervision of Secondary Education...•••••...

XXIV.

Topics Covered in Thirty-Three Courses in the Administration of Teacher Personnel

XXV.

los

.

Topics Covered in Twenty-Five Courses in the Administration of Pupil Personnel.....•#••••• 19®

XXVI.

Topics Covered in Twenty-Pour Courses in the Administration of Student Activities......... 19®

XXVII.

Topics Covered in Twenty-One Courses in Public School Business Administration.••••••••••••..

XXVIII.

Education Courses which Graduate Students in Educational Administration are Permitted to P

XXIX.

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Courses in Related Fields which Graduate Students in Educational Administration are Permitted to Pursue

XXX.

.... .

Courses and Activities Recommended in the Litera­ ture for the Training of School Administrators £24

XXXI.

Comparison of Courses for Preparation in School Administration with the Frequency of Recommen­ dations in the Literature..................... 229

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THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

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~i CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT INTRODUCTION The professional status of the school administrator is still a moot question*

Opposing those authorities who

contend that school administration constitutes a distinct 1 profession, albeit an infant one, are those alleging that this branch of educational service is merely a pseudo-pro2 fession. Contenders on both sides of the issue emphasize the necessity of adequate and thorough training for any profession worthy of the name*

Pertinent, therefore, to

the solution of the question concerning school administra­ tion and its rank as a profession is an investigation and 1 George D* Strayer, "Changing Concepts of Educational Administration,” World Education, 4 :387-390, September, 1939 # Jesse H* Newlon, Educational Administration as Social Policy (New York: Charies Scribner*s Sons, 1934), 301 pp. Educational Leadership: Progress and Possibilities, Eleventh Yearbook of the Department of Superintendence of the National Education Association (Washington, D.C.: The Department of Superintendence, 1933), 530 pp. 2 Henry C* Morrison, "Wanted: Superintendents Who Are Executives, Not 'Experts1,” . The Nation's Schools, 55;, 4142, May, 1944* Frederick Eby, "Can Educators Achieve Professional Leadership?” The Education Digest, 11:6-11, January, 1946.

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^"appraisal of professional programs for the preparation of school executives.

Such an investigation has been the

primary purpose of the present study.

Helpful to a judicious

appraisal of the data discovered in the investigation would he a preliminary consideration of the evolution of school admini stra tion• School administration in the United

States has under­

gone significant changes in nature and scope during succes­ sive periods of development. of placing school

The seventeenth century practice

affairs in the hands of the selectmen and

church officers gave way, in the eighteenth century, to the use of special committees with specific school duties.

These

committees evolved into boards of education, particularly in the larger city school systems, in the nineteenth century. Toward the last quarter of that century, the concept of a single and controlling local school offic-er evolved, but as late as 1870 there were only twenty-^nine city superintendents and these performed little more tlian clerical duties. Characteristic of twentieth century developments in school administration were changes in functions of school officers.

In the opening decades of the present century,

Ellwood P. Cubberley, Public School Administration (revised edition; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1922), p. 58.

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^organization and management of routine affairs were delegated to the local superintendent, while specific educational activities (supervision, finance, curriculum) were assigned to specially trained schoolmen.

Within recent years the

management emphasis of school administration has given way to democratic school and community leadership.

School management

might be restricted to organizing and putting policies into action and maintaining suitable conditions, but school administration has the special function of determining and developing policies for the selection, guidance, and appraisal of human efforts toward stimulating learning.^ Emphasis on leadership has drawn attention to the problem of recognizing school administration as a profession. Reavis^ marked 1923 as the beginning of educational adminis­ tration as a profession, since in that year the Department of Superintendence^published its first yearbook.

Frank E. Henzlik, School Administration and Educa­ tion for Administrative Leadership in Towns and Villages Tbincoln, Nebraska: The University of Nebraska, 1943), p • 3. 5 William C. Reavis, ‘'Educational Administration as a Profession," Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference for Administrative Officers of Public and Private Schools ("Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946), p. 3. 6 Status of the Superintendent, First Yearbook of the Department of SUperintendence of the National Education Association (Washington, D. C.r The Department of Superinten­ dence, 1923), 448 pp.

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rNewlon^ wrote in 1934, ”An adequate theory of school admin-”1 istration has never

been developed in the United States.”

Five years later, Strayer® noted, ”We are developing in this country a respect for the competent school executive.”

In

1946, Henryk referred contemptuously to school administration as ”this fledgling profession." The contemporary literature emphasizes the same issue. Sears*^ maintains that ”...a substantial literature has been developed and a profession has been established,” while Berkhof summarizes the entire disagreement: At no time in the history of the superintendency has as much serious attention been given by adminis­ trators to the matter of professionalization as at the present time.-*-*1The cause for this attention is attributed to a “crying need for unified leadership.” 7

Newlon, op.cit., p. 76.

Q

George'D. Strayer, "Modern Trends in Educational Administration,” Phi Delta Kappan, 21:381, April, 1939. ^George W. Henry, ”Alas, the Poor School Superinten­ dent, ” Jiar^erjj ^Magazine, 193:434, November, 1946. 10jeSSe b . Sears, ”A Program of Instruction for School Administrators,” Educational Administration and Supervision. 35:129, March, 1949. *^W. L. Berkhof, “Professionalism, When and How Can School Administrators Truly Attain It?”, The. Nation.!a School s., 43:50, April, 1949.

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This disagreement on the status of educational adminis­

tration discloses the importance of the factors influencing professionalization.

One of those factors is the quality

and extent of preparation for the field.

Qualitative standards,

such as breadth of preparation, successful teaching and apprenticeship experience, must be determined before a pro­ fession can be said to have reached its majority.

Hence,

attention to the status of educational administration has centered largely, in current literature and graduate school requirements, on the improvement of training programs for prospective school executives.

At a recent conference,^ an

analysis of university programs in administration indicated the following elements as essential:

properly qualified

staff members, provisions for supervision of field work, and opportunities for hig'h standards of achievement in education and related fields.

These aspects are included in the present

inve stiga tion• A

need exists, therefore, for an investigation of

programs in educational administration.

That study must be

confined to the graduate school, since this is the level of education at which administrators must obtain their profes­ sional training.

As early as 1933, the study of preparation

_

Ibid., p. 51. p

13

John E. Marshall, editor, Developing Leaders for Education. A Report of a Work-Conference of Professors of Educational Administration at Endicott, New York, 1947, p. 45. L

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programs offered a distinct challenge: •..Reevaluation of the methods and institutions by which their successors in school administration and educational statesmanship are to be trained is the most important task in education today...14

A pointed statement to the same effect was made by Holmes a few years later: The American road to educational progress lies in the clarification of university policy in professional preparation for school administration...The academic suspicion of courses in Education and of Schools and Departments of Education has much to feed on; new and better standards for professional training in Education must be worked out; and a type of ’pedagogical racketeer ing’ not uncommon in university training for school workers must be swept away: but there is no way of avoiding the conclusion that in universities alone, through their training of superintendents, teachers, and other school officers, can we look for new sources of light and leading for the public schools.15 Hence, the quality and type of training available to educa­ tional administrators are important considerations for the determination of the professional status of administration and for the improvement of education generally. Statement of the problem.

The problem of this

dissertation was to investigate and appraise university programs for the preparation of school administrators. Its

"G. S. Ford, f,Who Administers Our Schools?1', Educa­ tional Method, 12:451, May, 1933. 15

Henry W. Holmes, "The Professional Preparation of Superintendents of Schools," Educational Progress and School Administration, editor, C.M. Hill (YaleUniversity Press, 1936),' pp. 44 and 48.

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7 nsolution involved two main steps;

(l) a survey of ninety 16 colleges and universities in the United States, and (2),

an appraisal of the data in terms of the viewpoints presented in the literature and the opinions submitted in the Ques­ tionnaire used in this investigation* Data on the training programs for school administra­ tors offered in ninety graduate institutions were secured through a Questionnaire.

Within the graduate programs, a

selection of pertinent features had to be made in order to delimit the problem.

Organizational practices, teaching

personnel, curricular offerings were chosen for their im­ portance, and the Questionnaire was constructed around these elements.

Data v/hich could be obtained from univer­

sity catalogues were not requested in the Questionnaire. The appraisal had for its main purposes, the discovery of a definite and consistent policy ( or lack of one) as the basis of current programs, and the extent to v/hich programs met practical needs.

The literature of the past twenty-nine

years and the opinions expressed in the Questionnaires furnished the necessary criteria. Scope of the study.

The term ’'school administrator ”

as used in this study, included elementary and secondary school principals, general supervisors, and superintendents of any type school district within a state.

Although a

16 See Appendix A. L-

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□.arge proportion of the literature discussed the school

n

superintendent particularly, there is general agreement among educational writers that a similarity of qualifications exists for all administrators. Superintendents usually have 17 had experience as principals, so that what is pertinent to one may The throughout

he applied to the other. time scope of the literature used generally the study extends from 1920

viewed in Chapter

II extend from 1928

to 1949.

Studies re­

to 1948.

Graduate work in school administration - all programs leading to master*s and doctor*s degrees in education - was selected as the area for study because preparation in this field is limited almost entirely to the graduate level. While single courses in educational administration were , found in undergraduate divisions, organized training programs for administrators were confined to the graduate schools. That the ninety graduate institutions included in the study were representative of the entire country may -be shown by their location, ownership, and student body. Twentyfour universities, including seven New England schools, were located in the eastern section and twenty in the southern states.

From the mid-western and western states,

twenty-three universities from each section participated.

~

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George D. Strayer, "The Education of the Superin­ tendent of Schools," Teachers College Record, 46:169, December, 1944. L-

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9 pState control was exercised over forty-eight of the-insti- n tutions; nineteen were owned by private secular organizations and two were under a combined state and private administra­ tion.

Local city or district control was applied to four of

the schools.

Religious groups were also represented; nine

universities were under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, and eight were administered by various denominational sects.

Since all the participating institutions were co­

educational at the graduate level, the data were applicable to both men and women students. The term "organizational practices" included the problem of departmentalization, the number of degrees offered in the field, the requirements for those degrees, the participation of students in field surveys and appren­ ticeship provisions. "Teaching personnel" concerned the qualifications, training, experiences, and professional contributions of the faculty members who were teaching the courses in educa­ tional administration. "Curriculum".extended to the courses in educational administration, in other phases of education, and in related fields which the universities prescribed for future school administrators. Procedure.

The initial step in this investigation

was to select those colleges and universities listed in the

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Educational Directory 1947-1948 courses.

as offering education

One hundred forty-five such schools were found

and their catalogues were requested.

Of this number, 137

were forwarded; the other eight schools did not offer edu­ cation at the graduate level. A Questionnaire was then prepared to secure needed data not contained in the catalogues.

Of the 137 schools

which received the Questionnaires, three were later excluded because their offerings in educational administration were too meagre to warrant inclusion. 134 schools did not respond;

Forty-four of the remaining

the field-study was based,

therefore, on the data in the ninety well-tabulated Question­ naires which were returned*

Although five of the ninety

universities participating did not offer special training for administrative positions, their graduates in education hold such positions and their Questionnaire responses indi­ cated definite policies about preparation of school admin­ istrators. Criteria for judging the field-data were secured through a study of the literature on educational adminis­ tration of the past twenty-nine years.

That literature

_ 8

Educational Directory. 1947-1948, Part III: Colleges and Universities, United States Office of Educa­ tion Bulletin 1948, No. 1 (Washington,D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1947), 86 pp.

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rwas analyzed and grouped under two headings: (1) those

n

studies concerned specifically with graduate education de­ grees, curricular offerings, and university programs for ad­ ministrators, were reviewed as related literature, and (2) all studies and opinion articles which presented specific training programs or suggestions for their improvement, were used as criteria for evaluating the data of this ..study.

A

large portion of the literature served both purposes, so that overlapping between the two groups was unavoidable. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMElfT Contemporary policies and practices in graduate work can best be understood, perhaps, in the light of events and influences of the past.

In dealing with any current situa­

tion or organization, it is valuable to trace the stages of its development, since a particular event or practice may not give evidence of its full significance until it is seen in its entire historical setting. This section was prepared to provide a background for the understanding of graduate school offerings in educational administration and of current concepts of the administrator and his task.

Trends and rates of development of these of­

ferings are explained in three steps: the development of grad­ uate schools, the introduction and expansion of the study of educational administration both as a field and as an indivi­ dual subject,i and the changed attitudes toward the administra­ tor's function, as deduced from a study of the literature. I—

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Beginnings in general graduate work and graduate school organization*

!

Information on the initiation of

graduate study in the universities surveyed and on the establishment of graduate schools as separate units was contained in the catalogues of the participating universities. Earned degrees beyond the baccalaureate level were awarded prior to the establishment, in 1876, of Johns Hopkins as the first American graduate institution.

The second and

third quarters of the nineteenth century were characterized by the inauguration of master’s programs.

Leading univer­

sities in this movement were Columbia, Georgia, Harvard, Michigan, Virginia, and Yale.

During the last quarter of

that century, the doctor’s degree developed, assumed importance, and was relatively the more popular of the graduate degrees until 1900. Formulation of graduate degree programs came earlier, generally, than the establishment of graduate schools as separate units of a university.

For example, beginnings

in graduate offerings were made at Marquette, Northwestern, Butler, and Yale Universities (in that order) from 1864 to 1876, but their graduate schools were not established until

II

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Walton C. John, Graduate S^udy in Universities and Colleges in the* United States, United States Office of Education Bulletin 1934, No. 20 (Washington, D. C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1935), p. 59.

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13 r~l922, 3-910, 1932> and 1920, respectively*

During the 1880hB,

the University of Nebraska introduced graduate courses, but formed its graduate school in 1895.

The Catholic University

and the Universities of Colorado, Denver, Oregon, and Stan­ ford augmented their curricula by graduate courses during the 1890’s, but their graduate schools were founded in the twentieth century.

One exception was George Washington

University, which both inaugurated graduate work and estab­ lished its graduate school in 1893*

Those universities which

'introduced graduate work in the twentieth century established their graduate schools at the same time or shortly thereafter. The dates presented here apply to earned degrees and not to the practice, prevalent in America throughout the eighteenth and the major part of the nineteenth century, of conferring a Master of Arts degree upon alumni who, three years following graduation, paid a fee, were of good moral character, and were engaged in intellectual work.

The

University of Pittsburgh had awarded five such degrees by 1852, although it did not formulate graduate programs until 1884.

An honorary Master of Arts degree was granted by the

University of Mississippi from 1848 to 1870 to "graduates who had attained intellectual distinction."

..It was not

until 1890 that this University organized a formal program for the master’s degree. The growth of graduate schools, therefore, and the emphasis on graduate work in- universities and colleges passed L

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through three successive stages;

(l) It was not uncommon

i

for institutions to confer masterfs degrees of an honorary nature from the seventeenth to approximately the third quarter of the nineteenth century.

(2) During the latter \

period, that practice declined and in its place universities and colleges established specific requirements to be met for earned master’s degrees and added doctoral programs to their curricula.

One of the greatest influences on that practice

was the founding of Johns Hopkins University in 1876 as a distinctly graduate school.

(3) Prom the beginning of the

twentieth century to the present time, universities have concentrated all graduate work, with few exceptions, in a separate administrative unit —

the graduate school.

This

has been the period of reorganization and systematization of graduate work. Graduate work in educational administration.

The

Questionnaire sent to the graduate schools requested infor­ mation on the year in which graduate courses in educational administration were introduced into their curricula. Res­ ponses to this question were received from sixty-seven schools and these data were supplemented by the literature* When Gilman was setting.up the curriculum of Johns Hopkins University, he declared, ”.. .education should be 20 included in the program as a field of graduate study.” "

20~" Ernest V. Hollis, Toward Improving Ph.D. Programs (Washington,D.G; American Council on Education, 1945), p.14.

15

rWhat made this statement and this viev/point significant in n graduate education programs was the fact that at that time undergraduate courses in education were being formulated and were struggling for recognition; graduate education courses were hitherto unknown. Provisions for the first organized, planned curriculum for advanced degrees in education were made by Dean Russell ■ 21 at Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1898, although a single course had been offered by Columbia in 1894.

In

1898, courses in educational administration at the graduate level, were being introduced at Chicago, Harvard, Missouri, 22 and Stanford Universities. The nineteenth century was a period of conflicting developments in the history of school administration. Pro­ gress had been made in the teaching of education, an impetus had been given to graduate education work by Gilman's policy at Johns Hopkins, the field of educational administration had progressed since the organization of the National Association of School Superintendents in 1866; but in 1897 superintendents generally did not believe there was any -possibility of providing graduate work in school administra23 tion. Yet by 1900, forty courses on fourteen topics in

Strayer,"The Education of the Superintendent of Schools, 11 loc.cit. ^Sears, loc.cit. 23

George D. Strayer, "Rise of Public School Adminis­ tration," School Executives Magazine. 49:14,September, 1929^

16 24 •"educational administration were available for study.

n

The most rapid progress has taken place in the twentieth century*

Since 1900, sixty-three of the universities

investigated have* added the educational administration field to their graduate curricula. Although data on the introduction of general graduate work, the establishment of graduate schools, and the intro­ duction of graduate educational administration courses v/ere available for a sufficient number of schools to determine trends within each aspect, information on all three were obtainable for twenty-four schools.

These data are presented

in Table I. The data of Table I summarize the discussion presented thus far.

Graduate work leading to advanced degrees in other

subjects preceded the administration field by a range of 15 to 70 years.

The teaching of educational administration at

the graduate level was distinctly a twentieth century develop­ ment with the 1920’s as the modal decade..

By this time, the

subject had become established and accepted in graduate in­ stitutions. It must be noted that the abov-e discussion refers to the graduate level only.

Educational administration appeared

in undergraduate programs earlier than it did in graduate schools, but its evolution at the undergraduate level follows -

Asail B. Murphy, "Basic Training Programs for City School Superintendents," (unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, The University of California, Berkeley, 1931), p. 44. L_

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TABLE I DEVELOPMENT OF GRADUATE WORK AND GRADUATE SCHOOLS IN TWENTY-FOUR UNIVERSITIES

NAME OF UNIVERSITY Michigan Rochester Marquette Illinois Northwestern Butler Yale West Virginia Nebraska Denver Colorado George Washington Catholic Stanford Oregon Oklahoma A. and M* Toledo Notre Dame Connecticut Texas Technological Fort Hays Kansas State Mississippi State Sam Houston Teachers Xavier

Graduate Work Introduced 1849 1851 1864 1872 1874. 1875 1876 1880 1886 1891 1892 1893 1895 1896 1897 1910 1912 1918 1920 1927 1929 1936 1936 1946

Graduate Educational School Administration Established Offered 1912 1942 1922 1892 1910 1932 1920* 1930 1895. 1930 1903 1893 1930 1917** 1900 1929 1912 1918 194-0 1935 1929 1936 1936 1946

19141920 1925 1913 19081930 1920 1930 1925 1930 1920 1908 1904 1896 1920 1929 1920 1925 1940 1927 1929 1936 1937 1946

*This date refers to the organization of a Department of Education within the Graduate School of Yale University. **This refers to the organization of the Stanford University School of Education, which is in charge of education programs at the graduate level.

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rthe graduate school development very closely.

For example/1

during the years 1861 and 1863, a course of lectures on the organization, administration, and instruction

of schools was

offered, at the University of Michigan, but it was intended for teachers rather than administrators and was evidently 25 discontinued after 1863. The 1870!s and 1880fs were characterized by the rapid growth of normal schools, which concentrated, for the most part, on the training of teachers. A notable exception was the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, Michigan, which provided training for principals and superin­ tendents from 1878. During the decade of 1890, educators were attempting to establish departments of pedagogy in colleges and univer­ sities.

In 1890, there were only twenty-one such departments 26 and many of these existed on paper only. A couple of years later, a strong plea was made for normal schools to confine themselves to the training of teachers and for colleges and universities to begin the work of preparing principals and 27 superintendents. Proper relations between normal schools and college departments of education had not been established nor O K

N. Edwards and H.G. Richey, The School in the American Social Order (New York:Houghton Mifflin Company, 1947), p. 790. 0£\ Levi Seeley, "Pedagogical Training in Colleges where there is no Chair of Pedagogy,11 Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the National Education Association, Session of the Year l550, pp. 673-677. ^ A * Dunton, "Discussion,11 Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the National Education Association, Session of ithe Year 1892, p. 787. j

19 their functions defined* The expansion of educational administration as a college subject was delayed until the first two decades of the twen­ tieth century.

It was the school survey movement of the early

1900*3 which led to an extensive literature and opened the way 28 ’’...for the systematic training of educational administrators.” Tyler noted (in 1946) that school administration was intro­ duced into the curriculum of departments of education about 29 thirty-five years previously. The study of educational administration at the under­ graduate level is merely touched upon here since the scope of this study was the graduate level.

The discussion may point

out, however, that no extensive study of school administration was offered, at either level, prior to the twentieth century. Development of courses in educational administration. Part of the development of educational administration as a professional subject may be seen through the changed and ex­ panded content of single courses in the field.

The literature

contained material sufficient to trace that expansion. late as 1910, Spaulding, 28

As

in presenting a topical outline for

Edwards and Richey, op.cit.« p. 801*

29

Ralph W* Tyler, ’’The Role of University Departments of Education in the Preparation of School Administrators,1’ Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference for Adminis­ trative Officers of Public and Private Schools (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press"7"X9467, pp• 31-45* L

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la course in school administration, remarked, llThe administra> tion of public education is grossly inefficient; it is the 30 weakest phase of our great educational enterprise.0 The truth of that statement may explain the necessity for the formulatiQn of such a course as Spaulding suggested at that time.

A minimum outline of Spaulding*s course, stressing city school systems, consisted of the following areas; I. II.

Units or Areas of Administration Organization and Administration of City School Systems A. The School Board B. The School Superintendent C. The Local Problems of Education in a City D. Organization and Supervision of Elementary Schools E. High School Organization and Supervision

The outline was indicative of beginning stages of a field; it was generalized rather than specialized, attempting to include both administration and supervision, both the elementary and secondary school levels, the consideration of school problems, and at the same time stressing a particular type of school system.

No attempt had been made as yet to

break the field down into specialties.* Of greater significance than the topics were the view­ points from which the course was to be taught and the sources from which the material of the course was to come.

It was

from his own ideals and his experiences as a practicing 30

Prank E. Spaulding, "The Aims, Scope, and Methods of a University Course in Public School Administration,” papers prepared for The National Society of College Teachers of Education (Iowa City, Iowa; The "tfat'iona1 Society of College Teachers of Education, 1910), p. 4. L J

21

Sdministrator that Spaulding developed the course; the view«^ point of the subject was a practical philosophy in order to solve existing problems. The student, on his part, was expected to utilize his experience in school affairs, his observation of school ad­ ministration in operation, and the literature in the field to formulate a set of working principles. This early course indicates that school administration developed from practice to principles rather than from principles to practical applications,

Spaulding could not

rely upon literature alone, since literature and courses developed almost simultaneously during the early decades of 31 the twentieth century. The textbooks by Chancellor and 32 Dutton and Snedden were the first to be written in this field, 33 According to Burris,

Spauldingfs approach to the

teaching of school administration was erroneous, since it sought to formulate principles on opinion and suggestion rather than on a sound philosophy of education; and because it aimed at establishing principles rather than starting

william E. Chancellor, Our Schools, Their Adminis­ tration and Supervision (New York: D.C. Heath and Company, 1904). 32

S. Dutton and D. Snedden, Administration of Public Education in the United States (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1908)”,”"614 pp. 33

William P. Burris, ,rDiscussion,M papers prepared for the National Society of College Teachers of Education, ^op.cit., p. 63.

22 ^from those principles which had been already determined in the field* 34 Concomitantly with Spauldingfs course, Elliott suggested one in the 11Administration and Supervision of Public Education11; its major, units were five in number, but were subdivided into a long list of topics.

The major units

were as follows: I. II. III* IV. V.

Introductory Survey American Federal Policy and National Agencies American State Policy American Municipal Policy Supervision of Instruction

This differed from Spauldingfs course as it viewed adminis­ tration in a broader aspect; yet it also attempted to include a great deal of material, to combine administration and supervision, and to give a general survey of the field. During the early years of this century, work in school administration, still in a formative stage, was of a general rather than a specialized nature. By 1922, when Strayer and 35 Evenden published their syllabus for a course in the Principles of Educational Administration," changes in scope, approach, and method were evident. 34

Edward C. Elliott, "University Course in Educational Administration," Ibid., p. 73.. 35

G. D. Strayer and E.S. Evenden, Syllabus for a Course in the Principles of Educational Administration (Teachers College Syllabi No. 11, New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1922), 89 pp.

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According to this syllabus, one year*s time was devoted

to the study of administration— the first term covering national and state school problems, and the second ( term, city school administrative affairs.

The approach was the applica­

tion of the case method to the solution of problems presented to the students in the form of cases and related questions* Solutions to the problem cases were to be arrived at through an application of the principles involved. The first semesterfs work included the following major divisions: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Changing Conceptions of American and European Administration Federal Government and Education Organization of State, County, Town and District Schools School Support Courses of Study and Textbooks Teachers Pupils School Plant and the State

During the second semester, students delvedthrough cases in the development, administration, publicity, supervision, pupil accounting, staff, and school building programs of city school systems. The course organization indicates that the method had changed from a formulation to an application of the principles of administration.

By this time, school administration had

developed sufficiently to enable instructors to present real cases and students to apply working principles.

The length

of the course was necessarily extended, and supervision became one of many topics to be covered. L

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r

In 1930, Engelhardt

published a syllabus for a basic^

course in school administration*

It differed from previous

syllabi both in its comprehensive treatment and its attention to detail* readings.

It included topics, sub-topics, questions, and Twenty-four topics to be covered either in one

semester or one year at the graduate level and presented from the viewpoint of problems in the field, were the main charac­ teristics of the syllabus*. The sub-topics were too numerous to duplicate here, but the major divisions of the course were as follows: 1. Evolution of Public Education in the United States 2* Development of State Responsibility for Education 3. School District Organization a. Urban School Districts b. Rural School Districts c. Provisions for School-District Reorganization 4. Legal Jurisdiction of School Districts 5. The School Board a. Work of Boards of Education 6. Board of Education and the Executive 7. Superintendent of Schools 8. Educational Program 9. Principles of Organization and Administration 10. Personnel Management: Qualifications a. Permanence, Compensation, Retirement 11. Organization and Administration of Elementary Schools 12. Organization and Administration of Secondary Schools 13* Organization for Supervision 14* Organization for the Administration of Pupil Personnel 15. Health Education Program 16. Administration of Library Service 17. Administration of Curricular and Instructional Materials 18. Administration of Business Affairs 19. Administration of Schools and Financial Support 36

Fred Engelhardt, Public School Organization and Administration Syllabus (New York: Ginn and Company, 1930), 176 pp. L

25 i—

1

20. 21. 22. 23.

Administration and Costs Public Relations and the Administration of Schools Organization for Research The State and Administration of Local School Systems 24. The Federal Government and Public Education

|

While the list of topics to be treated would seem to be too extensive for careful study in one semester or one year, methods of teaching the course provided for individual out-of-class work by the students.

The general survey nature

of the course did not signify a step away from specialization in administration, since many new aspects of the field were introduced which were not included in the courses discussed above; for example, distinctions between urban and rural school administration, personnel relationships, health programs, library services, public relations, and research. A reaction against specialization in administration 37 courses was expressed as early as 1933 by Hill. He deplored the ”...influences which led schools and departments of education to attempt ridiculous subdivisions of indivisibles,” and approved the trend toward organization of subject-matter around large units of instruction.

He advocated making

courses less academic and linking them closely with school practice* 38

In 1941, Wood

'

attempted to meet criticisms made

37

C. M. Hill, "Trends in the Teaching of School Ad­ ministration,” School and Society. 38: 33-39, July 8, 1933. H.B. Wood, "Functional Courses in School Adminis­ tration,” School Executive^ Magazine. 60: 24-26, June,1941. L

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26 lagainst courses in educational administration by preparing

1

seven Mfunctional11 courses which he established on the basis of suggestions and recommendations made by administrators. Wood described the following letter as exemplifying many of the answers he received from administrators: I grew up to this job. I started as a teacher and coach in a small high school, two years later was made principal and now I have this job (supervising prin­ cipal). I !ve learned most of what I know about ad­ ministration by *trial and error* (and plenty of the latter). I*ve taken the usual administration courses but never studied real problems.39 The proposed courses with some of their areas and topics ' are as follows: I.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OP TEACHING: function and social purposes of administration, state school systems, practical administrative problems of the classroom, introduction to general problems of administration.

II.

FOUNDATIONS OP SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION: analysis of philosophy of school administration, school as a social institution, methods of financing public education, problems of teacher preparation, schoolcommunity relations.

III.

TECHNIQUE OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION: state and local organization, personnel, curriculum, extra-curric­ ular activities, pupils, guidance, measurement, records and reports, and finance.

IV.

SUPERVISION OP EDUCATION: relations of aims to learning exercises, types of learning exercises t and their values, evaluation and improvement of teaching, personal and professional relationships and supervisory officers and teachers.

V. VI, VII. PROBLEMS IN SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION: three courses for three separate groups: principals, superintendents, and supervisors. 39 Ibid.. p. 24. L

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By 1941, the field of educational administration had-*

become so differentiated and specialized that the topics assigned to a single course in 1910 were distributed by Wood among six distinct courses.

New topics were added in Wood’s

courses and the subject, "Administrative Aspects of Teaching" sought to relate the administrative process to classroom procedure.

These courses were to be functional - immediately

practical for school administrators. The extent to which post-war issues and problems would affect school administration courses was discussed by the 40 National Society of College Teachers of Education. Spe­ cialization in administration and stress on the acquisition of a particular set of administrative techniques had reached a peak and had started to decline in importance immediately prior to World War II, according to this group.

The trend

is away from training in specific techniques and towards an understanding of the social function of school administration and^ competency in the following areasj (1) human behavior and growth, (2) the school as a social institution, (3) social, economic, and political problems of American demo­ cracy, (4) procedures for studying administration problems, and (5) human relationships.

Thus the broader aspects of

administration and .their associations mdth related fields 40

“ S.M. Brownell, "Some Needed Adjustments in Courses of School Administration in Light of War Demands,11 TwentyNinth Yearbook of the National Society of C dlege Teachers of Education (Ann,Arbor, Michigan: Ann Arbor Press, 1944), pp. 71-76. L J

28 iare stressed. A new idea in course planning and organization was 41 carried out at Columbia University in 1947. Although the specific content of the course was not explained, its approach and methods indicate an innovation in an advanced school administration course.

A student steering committee

had been selected which had gathered opinions from the forty students and the six professors on the subject-matter of the course.

Four sub-groups worked on separate aspects of educa­

tional administration and a great part of the time was spent in field work in conjunction with a cooperative school survey which Teachers College was conducting.

Formal lectures were

held only when suggested by faculty members from the admin­ istration o r ’other departments, as occasion demanded.

When

the sub-groups reported to the class at the end of the semes­ ter, the professors sat in the audience and joined in ques­ tioning the groups.

Everything about the course was "unorthodox11

but it was highly acclaimed by both students and professors. Thus, as present, the community-service, democratic, and practical concepts of the teaching of administration are in vogue. Changing attitudes toward the administrator1s function. A study of the development of graduate work in educational administration, of individual courses, and of the literature, 41

Daniel R. Davies, "Our Students Asked for This," School Executive's Magazine, 67: 51, September, 1947. L

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29. brought to light certain changes in policy and attitude

'

toward the school administrator^ -function and training# Preparation for administration is a twentieth-century concept*

Before this time, the administrator learned his

work on the job through trial-and-error methods, although there were some exceptions to this* administrator by administering*

He learned how to be an

The early years of the present

century saw the establishment of school administration as a subject for study, but professors and administrators had to evolve their own series of "best practices,u for this was a period of experimentation and the beginnings of organized training* School administration in the 1920!s and 1930fs was affected by the era of big business and the stress on the efficiency expert in American industry*

This influence, to­

gether with the fact that new administrators with master*s and doctor!s degrees were entering the field produced the concept of the local superintendent as the school expert and 42 a view of his work as that of management* In a discussion of the effect of big business on education, Counts noted: .♦.the entire educational system and the accompanying educational theory have been greatly influenced by the ideals of business enterprise...and the ambitious school administrator covets a reputation for efficiency and feels complimented if he is mistaken for a banker or the director of some large corporation. ^3 42 Hewlon, op.cit*, p. 89. 43

George S. Counts, The American Road to Culture |(New York: John Day Company, 1930), pp. 136-137*

j

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i

The literature of the past ten years and recent courses

have conceived the school as basically a social institution; the administrator as a social leader who must be acquainted with society and government to take an important part in 44 community affairs; and his training as broad, democratic, and practical*

The modern democratic leader respects the

personalities of those with whom he works, is skilled in the techniques of group planning and action, and accepts the 45 group*s decisions* This brief historical survey should provide a back­ ground for an understanding of current programs for the education of school administrators.

A detailed consideration

of such programs, as surveyed and appraised in this study, will appear in subsequent chapters. 4i George D. Strayer, ’’Changing Concepts of Educa­ tional Administration,” op.cit., p. 3S7. 45

Harold Alberty, ”Administrative Leadership in the High School,” Educational Leadership. 5:433, April, 1948.

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CHAPTER II REVIEW OP RELATED STUDIES Although much has

been written during the past two

decades on the preparation of school administrators, the ma-jor portion of that literature has been of an investigational or opinion type; indeed, no experimental studies were found which were related to this present survey,

A selection of the more

objective literature was required, nevertheless, for the pur­ poses of this chapter.

Opinion articles were necessarily

excluded inasmuch as they were not studies in the sense

of

organized investigations. The literature most closely related to this disserta­ tion consisted of twenty studies of university offerings in educational administration, proposed programs for school ad­ ministrators, and requirements for and types of graduate \

degrees in education, covering the period from 1928 to 1948, For purposes of convenience in presentation, the studies were grouped under the following headings: (1) University offerings in educational administration, (2) Proposed training programs for school administrators, (3) Graduate degrees in education. The suggested programs included in this chapter were not considered opinion studies since they were either evaluated by practicing administrators or formulated by learned organi­ zations , Although evaluations of university faculties have been ■published and their criteria utilized in this investigation^

32

Uio studies were found which concerned specifically the

n

faculty in the field of education. Studies of college and university offerings in educa1 tional administration. Edminster analyzed eighty bulletins of public and private colleges and universities and found adequate descriptions of administration, supervision, and curriculum courses in sixty-six of the catalogues.

The total

number of courses found were tabulated according to frequency, content, and credit. Within each of the three groups (admi­ nistration, supervision, curriculum) Edminster selected those courses which received the greatest emphasis as determined by the percentage of total credit.

Technique in Administration,

Secondary School Administration, and Introductory Course in Administration, were the common titles in that group; Elemen­ tary School Supervision and Introductory Course in Supervision were the most frequent of the supervision courses.

Of the

curriculum group, Elementary School Curriculum and the Introductory Course in Curriculum carried the most credit. For the remainder of courses which Edminster analyzed, he drew the conclusion that the great variety in the nomenclature of courses in these three subjects caused much confusion in the college offerings.

^James M. Edminster, "An Analysis of the Curricula and Courses Offered by Colleges and Departments of Education in the Universities of the United States in the Fields of Educa­ tional Administration and Supervision," (unpublished Master’s thesis, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1928). L_

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That conclusion is the only contribution of the study!

to the present problem; the extent to which confusion among courses still exists will be discussed in Chapter V.

Un­

fortunately, the author made no recommendations on the basis of his findings. One part of a study conducted by the Department of 2 Superintendence in 1933 consisted of an examination of the catalogues of fifty-six institutions which offered profes­ sional courses for superintendents of schools.

Forty-nine

items were found to be included in the courses.

The most

common items, according to the frequency with which they were offered, are presented below. Topics Boards of Education Local Units of Administration Income and Apportionment State Support School Buildings and Equipment Building Program School Surveys Supervision State1s Responsibility for Education Curriculum Budget-making Organization and Functions of State Departments Classification and Progress of Pupils Personnel Financing Capital Outlay Scoring the Plant Relation of National Government to Education

Frequency 38 37 36 33 31 30 29 29 28 27 27 26 26 26 25 25 25

Educational Leadership: Progress and Possibilities. Eleventh Yearbook of the Department of Superintendence (Washington,D.C.: The Department of Superintendence, 1933), p. 291. L.

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Also included in this section of the study was a r e-1

port on the plans used at selected large universities for the 3 training of school executives. The common elements in those plans were: specific courses in educational administration, field work in surveys, and solution of practical problems. These represented the newer trends in training programs at that time • A survey of college offerings for administrative.train* 4 ing was reported in 1933 by Ullrich. He compared the cata­ logues of fifty universities in 1921-1922 and 1931-1932 and was able to judge the remarkable growth of the study of admi­ nistration within the ten-year period, and also to note the complete absence of similarity or standardization of course titles. Ullrich's data may be summarized as follows: 1921-1922 Administration courses Curriculum courses Supervision courses Totals

320 38 35 393

1931-1932 778 124 124 1,026

The total number of courses offered in 1931-1932 would be 707 if restricted to those subjects included in the present investigation.

In addition to various specialized

^Ibid.t p. 295. 4 P. H. Ullrich, "Colleges Make Big Strides in Admi­ nistrator Training," The Nation’s Schools, 11:41-44, April, 1933. L

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35 reourses which were included in Ullrich*s study, both graduate and undergraduate levels were considered, so that the above figures are too high to be compared on an equal basis with the data found in this study. The fourth chapter of a preliminary report of a survey 5 conducted by the American Association of School Administrators was concerned with "Special Education for the Superintendency Offered by Colleges and Universities." Letters of inquiry were sent to 109 deans of schools of education and to 166 presidents of teachers colleges, requesting descriptions of the systematic programs under their direction, the types and nature of courses offered, selective admission procedures, provisions for internship and practice experience, and type of credential issued at completion of education.

One hundred

thirty-four answers were received, but only fifty-five of these schools offered graduate education programs in adminis­ tration. The programs in 58 per cent of the schools led to the state administrative certificate.

All permitted a major in

education but an equal stress was not always placed upon educational administration. Literally thousands of courses were found in the schools studied.

Eighty-five per cent of the schools offered what

5 " : Standards for Superintendents of Schools, A prelimin­ ary report, American Association of School Administrators (Washington,D.C: The American Association of School Adminis­ trators, 1939), pp. 33-43.

36

rthe Association judged a suitable program for superintendents to follow and these programs were grouped under eleven different categories of subjects: Administration and Supervision of Secondary and Elementary Schools

average offering of 6 courses

Curriculum of Secondary and Elementary Schools

average offering of 2 courses in forty-three schools

City, State, and County School Administration

twenty-three schools offered 1 course

School Finance and Business Administration

forty-five schools offered 1 course

Educational Psychology and Mental Hygiene

1 to 13 courses given by thirty institutions

General and State School Law

less than half the schools included this

Methods and Principles of Elementary or Secondary Education

forty-six schools offered an average of 2 courses

Tests and Measurements

an average of 1 course

Educational Surveys, Research and Statistics

1 to 7 courses given

History, Philosophy or Sociology of .Education

forty-seven schools offered. 1 to 8 courses

Principles of Vocational or Educational Guidance

over half of the colleges offered 5 courses

Requirements for degrees were also investigated. Students in 56 per cent of the schools were permitted to de­ vote 10 semester hours to elective courses chosen from groups mentioned above.

Forty-two per cent required a thesis, 33

per cent required a thesis and oral and written comprehensive examinations, and fifteen schools required comprehensive tests but, the thesis was optional. L

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r

This study, conducted only ten years ago, and embracihg

fifty-five schools, showed that the graduate education pro­ grams of this country still fell short of standardization, at least with respect to training offered for the superinten­ dency.

Further research might be made on an analysis of the

factors involved in standardization. 6 Moore’s study attempted to evaluate professional pre­ paration for superintendents by surveying the graduate curri­ culum in administration and then submitting it to superinten­ dents and boards of education for criticisms.

There were six

distinct parts and procedures to this investigation; three are apropos here. (1) Forty-seven colleges and universities were surveyed and it was found that forty-two of them offered definite training in educational administration.

For thirty-one of these schools,

517 courses were listed as required for a graduate major in adminis tra'tion • (2) Using the literature and five course syllabi, Moore con­ structed a check-list in educational administration of 16 major items with 124 subdivisions and submitted it to one hundred seventeen schools.

Eighty-one replies were received

and according to the frequency of items taught, Moore concluded that his check-list was complete and representative of typical graduate programs. V' A

Clarence C.* Moore, ■ ”An Evaluation of the Curriculum Offered School Superintendents by Institutions of Higher Learning,” (unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, Colorado jState College of Education, Greeley, 1940), 214 pp. j

.38 (3)

The same list of items was sent to superintendents in

i

Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah and they were asked to give a first, second, or third ranking to the items according to the extent to which a study of these items had been help­ ful to them.

Prom the replies of 363 superintendents, Moore

evaluated his check-list. The findings of the study may be presented as folloY/s; Subject Business Administration The Teaching Staff Superintendent of Schools Administration of Pupil Personnel Educational Organization School Supplies School Building Programs Care of School Buildings State Control of Education District Board of Education School Building Insurance Local Units of Organization Standards in School Buildings Federal Relations to Education Transportation County Educational Organization

Number of Hanking by Schools Superintendents 65 65 66 65 64 62 63 62 67 64 56 68 57 66 60 68

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9?

4

11

12 13 14i-

4

1

-

Moore drew no specific conclusions from the data pre­ sented above.

They would seem to indicate, however, that the

courses taught by most of the eighty-one schools were among those ranked as least helpful to the superintendents who had studied them.

The course "County Educational Organization" .

was taught by sixty-eight of the schools but did not receive any ranking.

There seemed to be a discrepancy between what

the universities offered and what the superintendents needed. This might be worthy of consideration in the preparation of a graduate training program. * •—

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Certain aspects of Moore1s study are applicable to the

present investigation.

He determined what the fairly typical

graduate program in educational administration was in 1940 and revealed the stress which'administrators placed on the busi­ ness aspects of a school and the practical problems of teacher and pupil personnel. 7 Cocking reported the findings of a commission appointed by the National Association of Colleges and Departments of Education to study administrative offerings of fifteen schools. The following conclusions drawn by Cocking were applicable: (l) seminars were replacing formal courses at that time, (2) administrative apprenticeships, clinics, and surveys were receiving attention as new fields, (3) cooperative relation­ ships among departments were stressed, and (4) despite the existence of a lag in the matter of improving the preparation of school administrators, there was a growing interest in this field. Part I of an investigation made in 1942 was "A Review of Current Practice, Theory, and Opinions in 62 Representative 8 Institutions at the Graduate Level.1’ A questionnaire was submitted to sixty-two institutions and the respondents were asked to mention the vital features in the training and ex­ perience of school administrators.

Only sixteen mentioned

—

Walter D. Cocking, ’’Education of an Administrator,” The Nation1s Schools, 28*31-32, July, 1941. 8

John Lund, Education of School Administrators,United ^tates Office of Education'Bulletin, NoT6 (Washington,D.C.: J United States Government Printing Office, 1942).

40

formal degrees.

All quoted such subjects as the social

sciences, psychology, child study, personnel management, and a foundation in education plus a varied teaching experience as necessary preparation for this field. Schools were asked to comment on the proposal that professors of school administration should be practicing ad­ ministrators employed on a part-time basis*

Lund, did not

state why he included this particular item or what importance he attached to it.

Twenty-two approved of this, eleven approved

with qualifications, and eight disapproved.

Lund made the

point that this matter still needed investigation.

More co­

operation between the faculty in education and the faculty in other fields was set up as a desirability and also a greater amount of agreement in the training and experience programs in school administration. Lund also reported that thirteen schools made provisions for internship in administration, by which was meant that students in this field were permitted to practice in the schools in the same manner as students in undergraduate teacher training programs fulfill a period of practice teaching. One of Lund’s conclusions was that very little agreement existed in this entire problem and he offered this important recommendation: n...steps should be taken to set up studies 9 in evaluation of programs of education in school administration,u but a definite basis for this evaluation was not established. 9

Ibid., p. 77.

J

41

QTt was a study concerned with policy rather than practice an& it called attention to two issues involved in the training program which have been included in the present study.

They

are the employment of practicing professors on a part-time basis and the establishment of cooperation between the de­ partment of education and the other departments of a university. College and university preparation available to the prospective elementary school principal in 1948 was studied 10 by the Department of Elementary School Principals, Ques­ tionnaires were answered by deans of education and teachers college presidents of seventy-two schools, and revealed the major characteristics of their training programs for the elementary school principalship,

In only 47 per cent of the

seventy-two institutions were planned programs available, and in 77 per cent, both pre-service and in-service training were offered. Questionnaire responses showed also that 48 per cent of -the schools had no criteria for the admission of students, 44 per cent used the interview technique, and three schools conducted written examinations.

The types of experiences com­

prising preparation for the elementary principalship were distributed among the seventy-two schools as follows: lecture —

The Elementary School Principalship - Today and To­ morrow, Twenty-Seventh Yearbook of the Department of Elementary School Principals of the National Education Association (Washington,D.C.: The Department of Elementary School Prin­ cipals, 1948), pp. 182-217, J

42

bourses, 91 per cent* research seminars, 73 per cent} work­ shop procedures, 70

per cent; visits to schools,

and internships, 27

per cent*

68 per cent;

Another aspect of this study was a detailed survey of the professional courses for the elementary principalship offered by seven of the participating universities*

Descrip­

tions were obtained

from the catalogues of these institutions

and verified by the

professor in charge of the program in

each of the seven schools*

A total of 45 courses were found

to be distributed among the following fields: Administration Supervision Curriculum G-eneral Education Tests and Measurements Principalship Guidance Administration and Supervision Psychology Methods Thesis and Research Public Relations Sociology

14 courses 10 8 8 6 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 1

The Departmental Committee conducting the study compared the courses with those offered in 1928 and concluded that recently emphasis is placed upon professional leadership in community affairs and on democratic practices. Specific recommendations were made by the Committee in view of its findings: 1.

Programs for the elementary school principalship should be

offered, at the graduate level only. 2.

Many existing programs must be broadened if they are to be

43

STdvertised as suitable preparation, 3*

^

Duplication among professional courses may be eliminated

by conferences and especially by agreement on terminology# 4#

More seminars and field studies should be included in

graduate programs# 5.

Internship experience must be given special consideration#

6#

Wider utilization must be made of such courses as social

work, public health, psychology, psychiatry, and technical fields# This review of literature on university programs from 3.928 to 1948 shows a trend away from surveys of practices only to analyses of policies and issues involved# So much of the literature failed, however, to culminate in concrete re­ commendations that it suggests a need for further research# Indicative also of the necessity for further investigation Y/as the consistency with which every study found disagreement, confusion, and lack of standardization in university programs in educational administration# Studies proposing training programs for school admi11 nistrators# The second part of Murphy’s doctoral study was an evaluation of the training program of a city school super­ intendent#

Murphy composed a check-list divided into the

three topics: teaching experience, minors or supporting subjects, 11Asail B# Murphy, "Basic „ Training Programs for City School Superintendents,” (unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, The University of California, Berkeley, 1931)# L

J

44 pnd professional training; and submitted the list to eighteen professors and seventeen city school superintendents. Generally the evaluations by the two groups were in close agreement, ranking the following items as highest: (1) The teaching experience considered desirable was three to five years in both elementary and secondary schools, beyond the baccalaureate degree. (2) The best contributory fields, in the order of importance, were: sociology, psychology, economics, political science, and English. (3) Within the field of education, the subjects ranked as most desirable were: the theory or philosophy of education, educa­ tional psychology, supervision, educational sociology, and curriculum. (4) Topics within the field of educational administration to be studied were, in the order of importance: school finance, business administration, organization and administration of supervision, organization and administration of curriculum, administration of teaching personnel, public relations and publicity, organization of schools, and schoolhousing. On the basis of the evaluation, Murphy recommended that training programs designed specifically for city school super­ intendents be established*

It may be noted, also, that the

evaluation agreed with previously discussed studies in stressing the social sciences as related fields and in attesting to the importance of the financial and business aspects of adminis­ tration. L

J

45

F

Specific elements of training have been proposed, too}

as a result of other investigations.

Included in the first

group of studies presented in this chapter was the 1933 survey 12 by- the Department of Superintendence* One aspect of the latter study determined the essential elements in training for leadership in school administration as suggested by experienced superintendents.

For this group, desirable training consisted

ofr (1 ) appreciation and understanding of human nature ac­ quired through struggling with life, (2 ) cultural training, (3) thorough grounding in sociology, (4) knowledge of aesthe­ tics, philosophy of education and social psychology, (5) know­ ledge of methods of teaching, (6 ) good physical and mental condition, and (7) ability to get along with people.

Teacher

and principal experience as well as research work were also recommended. The Department approved the above suggestions and favored a training program on the basis of the following viewpoint: "...the superintendent is a teacher, an administrator, a 13 philosopher, and a statesman.” This study showed that administrators in the field attached great importance to factors other than course work in educational administration.

Many of those factors are not as

yet a matter of general practice, as witnessed in the present study* T_Q

Educational Leadership:Progress and Possibilities, op.cit*, pp. 268-304* L

15Ibld.. p. 288.

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46

r

Based on an analysis of the literature and his own ~1 14 experience, Newlon suggested the areas of study which should

constitute an administrator’s training*

The program must he

viewed, hov/ever, in the light of the philosophy upon which Newlon based it.

He conceived educational administration as

an applied social science and maintained that the problems it confronted were broadly political and social rather than 15 narrowly mechanical, technical, and pedagogical. Prominent in his program were the following subjects: history of cultures and politics, history of social and eco­ nomic pressures and of intellectual processes, history of edu

-

cation, .anthropology, sociology (including economics and geography), the great classics in the social sciences, poli­ tics, schools of philosophy, educational and social psychology. Since a great deal of importance was attached to the adminis­ trator^ interests, it was proposed that his early college training should include the humanities and the arts and sciences, and it should cultivate a taste for scholarship, a love of knowledge and of reading. The strongly social nature of Newlonfs preparation pro­ gram was consistent with his philosophy of administration and anticipated the modern concept of the executive’s function.

Jesse H. Newlon* Educational Administration as Social * Policy (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1934). 15

L

Ibid., p. 252*

J

47

r

Another attempt to set up a program through an evaluab 16 tion from the field was made by Burke in 1934* His concern,

however, was with the secondary school principal in particular, A selected group of principals was- asked to rank those courses which had been of most value to them in their work. Twenty subjects within the education field were found to have been beneficial. School Administration Supervision of Instruction Guidance Curriculum Making Methods of Teaching Educational Psychology Extra-class Activities Adolescent Psychology Directed Study Tests and Measurements

School La?/ School Plant Practice Teaching Principles of Education Philosophy of Education School Hygiene Educational Sociology Statistics Educational Research History of Education

-

Having produced this rather long list of subjects, Burke concluded there was very little agreement on the ideal background of a high school principal. The study conducted by the American Association of - 17 School Administrators and reviewed earlier in this chapter recommended a training program for the superintendency based on law, practice, educational theory, and course ?/ork centered about four areasunderstanding American civilization,, know­ ledge of educational facts and theories, ability to guide instructional processes, and facility in using procedures for

Arvid J. Burke, "Professional Courses for Secondary School Principals," Educational Administration and Super­ vision. 20: 506-512, October, 1934. 17 £. 43.

Standards for Superintendents of Schools, op.cit., j

48

Solving problems.

1 These would be common to all students and

special interests would be developed through individualized work. Attention is called here to the evaluation of courses 18 for superintendents secured by Moore. They are presented on page 36 of this chapter and show the importance attached to a knowledge of business" procedures, of the teaching faculty and pupil personnel. A rather comprehensive study of the high school prin19 cipal was made by Sifert. He collected data on the training and experience of 193 high school principals and in addition, asked the principals, ninety-one city superintendents and fifty-six college professors to name the courses which prin­ cipals should study before securing positions. Opinions of the superintendents and professors coin­ cided very closely, but those of the principals differed.

The

latter believed that certain activities should be learned before service* for example, supervisory duties, budget pre­ paration, construction of class schedules, planning for indi­ vidual and group guidance programs, the administration of the school, and the extra-curricular program.

In other words, they

advocated, on the basis of their experience, pre-service train­ ing for their specific duties, for the practical aspects of their work. _

Moore, op.cit., pp. 103-107. L '^ E a r l H. Sifert, nThe High School Principal/* Clearing House. 17: 387-391, March, 1943.

49

r

From his findings on the training and experience of

1

principals, Sifert concluded that there was no set pattern followed and there was

little or no recognition given to 20 an apprenticeship for future high school principals." Ema­

nating as it does from a comparatively recent study (1943)* this conclusion reveals the embryonic stage of apprenticeship programs. Two studies to be included in this group were series of articles written for presentation to learned organizations, 21 Grace*s article in the Forty-fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education concerned the preparation of school administrators.

His suggestions were policies for

universities to follow rather than listings of specific sub­ jects. The program proposed centered the responsibility of the training institution around six areas: initial selection, continual guidance and follow-up, adequate professional pre­ paration, effective specialization, personality factors, and scholarship. Very specific recommendations for the training of school administrators were also offered. (1) Each university should survey the course content required in its program "to discover -gg-— Ibid., p. 398.

21 Alonzo G. Grace, "The Professional Preparation of School Personnel," Forty-fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part II (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1946), pp. 176-182. . L

"

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50

the gaps, the duplication, and the irrelevant material."

1

(2) Every program should include an internship in administra­ tion of not less than one year.

(3) The university’s re­

sources should he put to a greater utilization than they are at the present time. 22 Tyler’s paper, presented

at the Conference for Ad­

ministrative Officers of Public and Private Schools in 1946, was a clear and detailed discussion of the university’s responsibility for training administrators.

It is summarized

in the following six points: (1) Departments of education, with leading administrators, should seek outstanding candidates. (2) Departments should set the standards regarding the quali­ fications of persons to be admitted. (3) Departments should administer a diagnostic procedure to serve as a basis for individual programs of education. (4) Departments should advise candidates on related work in social studies, but offer a parallel seminar to relate the work to school administration; they should not offer the work itself. (5) Departments should offer education courses in psychology, philosophy and parallel seminars to relate the work to school administration.

_

r

Ralph W. Tyler, "The Role of University Departments of Education in the Preparation of School Administrators," Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference for Adminis­ trative Officers of Public and Private Schools TChicago: The JJniversity of Chicago Press, 1946), pp. 3T-45. j

51 —|

(6 ) Early in the training period, the departments should offer a "basic course in school administration, assuming the candi­ date has had teaching experience. These suggestions pointed toward less specialization in the technical aspects and more related work.

Tyler believes the

administrator M.•.requires broader training, greater vision, 23 increased competence,” As part of an extensive study of the elementary school 24 principalship (reviewed earlier in this chapter), a ques­ tionnaire was submitted to 689 city and town superintendents of schools concerning current practices in the principalship, from which recommendations for training programs were made. Consideration was given in the questionnaire to criteria used by superintendents in the appointment of principals. The personal qualities deemed most essential by the superinten­ dents were ability to get along with people, personality, and leadership traits. *It was found, also, that 70 per cent of the superintendents required specialized preparation of the principals they appointed, although the extent of that prepara­ tion was not defined. How vague this special training was may be judged from sections of the questionnaire devoted to characteristics of recent employees. 23

More than half of the superintendents did

”

Ibid., p.. 44.

24 The Elementary School Principalship - Today and Tomorrow, op.cit., pp. 133-181.

,

52

hot answer the question on the special preparation.

The

’

Committee conducting the survey judged it a fair statement that from one-third to one-half of the recently appointed principals had no specialized preparation. Concluding that cities in general had not set up cri­ teria for the selection of principals, and that often those cities which had criteria did not abide by them, as judged by recent appointees, the Committee made the following recommen­ dations:

(l) standards established by every school system

should require at least two years of successful elementary school experience, and (2 ) professional preparation should not be less than the master*s degree including courses in edu­ cational philosophy, administration and supervision of the elementary schools, child psychology and development, curri­ culum, and methods. In brief, the studies in the two-; groups reviewed thus far stressed such elements as the lack of uniformity or stan­ dardization in the programs, the need for cooperation between the department of education and other university departments, the desirability of a strong foundation in the social sciences, the need for some type of internship for the future adminis­ trator, and the importance of including financial and business aspects of administration in the pre-service program.

During

the period from 1928 to 1948, the literattire changed from a survey type predominantly to a recognition of defects in pro­ grams and suggestions for their improvement.

53 25 r

Studies of graduate degrees in education,

John

surveyed the number of institutions which offered graduate degrees in education and studied the Doctor of Education de­ gree in particular. , There v/ere 139 institutions in 1930 which offered degrees in this field at the master’s level and that number offered five different degrees, different at least in name.

In the same year, twenty-one institutions were offering

work for the Doctor of Education degree, the requirements for which emphasized the solution of practical problems and a mastery of educational subject-matter. Within these degree requirements, four schools distin­ guished between two types of degrees, one to prepare adminis­ trators and the other to prepare master teachers.

John com­

pared the requirements for the Doctor of Education degree with those for the Doctor of Philosophy

with a major in education

and found that no clear-cut distinction had as yet been made between the degrees. 26 Kyte analyzed the catalogues of eighty-four universi­ tiesand studied the requirements in education: the Master 25

“

for four

advanced degrees

of Arts, the Master of Education,

.

Walton C. John, Graduate Study in Universities and Colleges in the United States, United States Office of Education Bulletin 1934, No. 20 (Washington,D.C: United States Government Printing Office, 1935), 234 pp. 26

George C. Kyte, "Educational Requirements for Various Degrees in Education Granted by Representative Universities," Educational Administration and Supervision, 25: 401-418, September, 1939. L

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54

(Doctor of Philosophy, and Doctor of Education.

At the masters

level, several programs were offered to meet various pro­ fessional interests and the twelve universities which offered . the Master of Education degree intended it to he strictly professional.

At the doctor's level, however, Kyte found that

the fourteen universities offering programs for the Doctor of Education considered it both professional and academic since its requirements were very similar to those for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Master’s degrees in education, as offered in seventy 27 departments of education, were studied by Good. Differences found among types of master’s degrees in the field v/ere ne­ gligible*

The thesis was required of all candidates in

thirty-eight schools, but could be waived in thirty-two inj

stitutions.

Courses, seminars, or comprehensive examinations

were permitted as substitutes for the thesis.

YJhere

a de­

partment offered two master’s degrees, it was customary for the Master of Arts to include a thesis and the other degree not to do so.

With a thesis, the course work required ranged

from eighteen to thirty-two semester hours; without a thesis, the range was from t?^enty-four to thirty semester hours. Good drew no conclusions and made no recommendations which would be applicable here except that, a number of schools intended to make changes during the school year 1945-1946. 27

Carter V. Gooci> f,The Master’s Degree in Education, n School ana Society. 61: 186-187, March 24, 1945. L

-1

55 28 One aspect of Hollis1 detailed study of doctoral pro'3

r

grams was a comparison of the Doctor of Education and the Doctor of Philosophy in Education degrees. The Doctor of Edu­ cation was first awarded at Harvard University in 1922; by 1940, twenty-four universities were conferring the degree and eight more institutions had added it by 1945.

Hollis con­

cluded from the statistics he gathered on the number of persons who had received the two degrees and the types of employment they had secured that the Doctor of Education degree had been awarded largely to future administrators and supervisors, but the difference was too slight to justify the existence of both degrees.

Forty-four per cent of the Doctor of Education

holders and 35 per cent of the Ph.D. recipients were employed in administration. The data suggested to Hollis that the wiser graduate schools should realize they cannot offer satisfactory work in all departments and should select those levels of teaching, administration, and research in which they would offer doc­ toral degrees.

In drawing his conclusions, Hollis called

attention to three issues apropos of this present survey: (1) Should there be one or two doctoral degrees? (2) Should there be student teaching as part of doctoral work? (3) Does the graduate school have a responsibility for personality and social development? —

gg

Ernest V. Hollis, Toward Improving Ph.D. Programs (Washington,D.CAmerican Council on Education, 1945), pp. 96-104. L

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56 29 f-

In reviewing Hollis* book, Buswell

as outcomes of that study.

n posed six problems

They are quoted here in full, as

they concern vitally graduate work in education and advanced preparation for a definite field, such as school administration. 1* What should be the prerequisite program in general education underlying specialization for the Ph.D. degree? 2. Should the Ph.D. degree be based on a functional program aimed at vocational opportunities o r should it be a scholarly, scientific type of program of a more non­ professional character? 3* How specialized should the Doctor*s program in education be, that is, should it cover the entire field of education or should it be broken down into specialisation in administration, curriculum, and so on? 4. What should be the essential characteristics of the dissertation, and what relative emphasis should be given to its function as training in research and as a contribution to knowledge? 5. How should candidates for the Doctor’s degree be selected, and how far down toward the average of a graduate group should admission to candidacy be open? 6 . Should there be a differentiation in professional and scientific programs recognized by different degrees as for example, the Ed.D. and the Ph.D.?30 31 Woody*s 1947 survey conducted for the National Society of College Teachers of Education was a canvass of sixty-nine state and private universities for information on differences and similarities between the Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education degrees. 29

G. T. Buswell, ’’The Ph.D. Degree in Education,” ' Elementary School Journal. 46: 241-243, January, 1946. 30

Ibid.., p. 243.

31 Clifford ?/oody, Requirements for the Degrees of Ph.D. in- Education and the Ed.D., National Society of College Teachers of Education Monograph No. 1 (Michigan: Ann Arbor Press, 1947), 54 pp. L

J

57

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More similarities than differences were found and in

ten of the universities, the degrees were identical. Require­ ments peculiar to the Doctor of Education degree were: summer sessions accepted for residence, courses outside of education required or allowed, credit given for field service, statis­ tics course rather than language, practical problems suitable as dissertation topics.

Also, more holders of the Ed. D.

degree had secured administrative positions than holders of the Ph.D. degree. In summary, Woody found confusion as to differences. Opinions gathered on the basic issues involved in the two de­ grees suggested that tradition and attitude rather than require­ ments were the basic differences.

Most of the opinions favored

both degrees with flexible programs for the Ed.D.

Since it

seemed certain that graduate schools would not change the Ph.D. requirements, Woody proposed that' a professional degree re­ quiring two years beyond the Bachelor’s might solve the prob­ lem; but this suggestion was not received favorably by those who participated in his study. The twenty studies reviewed in this chapter were con­ ducted between 1928 and 1948.

They were concerned with graduate

degrees in education, with graduate courses in educational ad­ ministration, and with specific programs for the preparation of school administrators.

In general, the literature illus­

trated the steady expansion of the field of administration as a professional study and the gradual introduction of newer as- ■ pe:cts, such as field studies and internship provisions.

j

58

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1

Ho change in standardization of programs was found

throughout the period covered by the literature; for example, a lack of agreement among graduate schools as to desirable features of a training program in administration was reported in 1942; the lack of a set pattern in this field was found in 1943 j and duplications and irrelevant material among adminis­ tration courses were decried as recently as 1946. Wide divergence between theory and practice seemed to characterize the field, since university offerings in educa­ tional administration did not agree with suggestions and rankings of courses by practicing administrators.

The latter

consistently rated the financial and business aspects of their work high, but courses of this type were not the most numerous in the graduate schools.

It might raise a question as to

whether or not the graduate schools are preparing students for the practical needs of administration work. The two most recent aspects of this entire field were the consideration of personality factors in the selection and training of administrators, and the desirability of designating the Doctor of Education degree as the best channel for the preparation of school administrators. The proper implementation of recommendations made in the several studies mentioned in the chapter must necessarily be conditioned by the organizational practices in graduate schools.

These organizational practices have been treated as

a separate unit in the following chapter. L

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CHAPTER III

"]

ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES OP GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION Effective programs for prospective school administrators necessitate the formulation of specific organizational prac­ tices.

The practices investigated in this study were: divi­

sional responsibility within the university for the training programs; specialization in educational administration within the division as evidenced by departmental organization, by opportunities for majoring or minoring in school administration and for training for specific administrative and supervisory positions; and provisions for graduate students to participate in apprenticeship programs and school surveys as part of their degree requirements. The purpose of this chapter was to discover the extent to which universities were cognizant of their task of preparing school executives and of the necessity of setting up special devices for an effective program in this field.

Since both

catalogue and Questionnaire items were used, the.specific source of data is explained in each section, to avoid confusion Immediately following the presentation of the findings for a particular item, they are appraised on the basis of pertinent literature. SCHOOL AND DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATION

!

University school having jurisdiction over graduate —

j

60

^education degrees.

An analysis of catalogue statements re­

vealed that fifty universities, or 56 per cent, followed the traditional plan of placing all graduate work under the com­ plete control of the Graduate School.

The absence of a separate

School or College of Education was the explanation, at least partially, in twenty-one of the fifty universities. In contrast, the^chool or College of Education or Teachers College of a university had complete jurisdiction over its graduate degrees in only nine, or 10 per cent, of the institutions studied.

The three separate Teachers Colleges

surveyed were included in this category, since their graduate degrees were administered hy a professional rather than by a general graduate school. The remaining universities were distributed among three different plans.

In twenty-one, or 23 per cent, of the uni­

versities, graduate degrees in education were under the af­ filiated control of both the School of Education and the Gradu­ ate School.

This plan was different from that in operation

in nine, or 10 per cent, of the schools which distinguished between academic and professional degrees.

In this latter

group, the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in education were the academic or research degrees offered in the Graduate School, while the Master of Education and Doctor of Education were the professional degrees controlled completely by the School of Education.

One exceptional case was the

University of Chicago, at which all education programs were administered in a Department of Education of the Division ofj

61

Sbcial Sciences.

.Its purpose was to utilize all departments1

of the Division and was comparable to that of the Graduate School rather than the School of Education plan. The foregoing data are presented in Table II. If the last four divisions of Table II are taken sum­ marily, it is evident that 'graduate education degrees had alliance with undergraduate programs in education in 44 per cent of the colleges and universities.

This similarity in

the professional purpose of both undergraduate and graduate divisions makes possible the interchange of facilities and faculty, where necessary, and keeps all education in one ad­ ministrative unit. The trend toward .transferring responsibility for gradu­ ate degrees in education from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to the School of Education may be explained In part by the increase in the number of Master of Education and Doctor of Education degrees, discussed later in this chapter, and the differences in their requirements from traditional graduate degrees.

This trend was noted in the Encyclopedia of Educational

Research in 1941. The graduate Instruction offered in colleges of educa­ tion is generally under the administration of the graduate school of the university, but there is some indication of a trend toward giving the college of education considerable administrative control of this work*-*_

A.W. Anderson and R.H.Morrison, ’’Teacher Education II. Administrative Organization,” Encyclopedia of Educational Research, editor, W. S. Monroe, 1941, p. 1204.

62

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“T

TABLE II UNIVERSITY DIVISIONS WHICH ADMINISTER GRADUATE WORK IN EDUCATION

Divisions

Graduate School

Number of Schools

Per cent of Total

50

56

9

10

21

23

Separation of Control by Types of Degrees

9

10

Department of Education, Division of Social Sciences

1

1

School or College of Education Affiliated Control

L_

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65 j-

A real problem of relationship between the education -7

field and other fields of a university underlies this matter of divisional responsibility. Ever since the establishment of departments of educa­ tion in American universities, the determination of their proper position in the university organization has been a puzzle to administrators. For a complete discussion of this problem, arguments for both possibilities, namely, education with the arts and science division of a university, or education as a completely separate division, must be considered.

The arguments have

been expressed in the literature and were evident in the opinions stated in the Questionnaires. Much of the hostile spirit which refused to accept education departments graciously on college campuses has disappeared.

It has been suggested, however, that the real

solution lies in not allowing professors of education to re­ main independent of other departments of their universities. This solution is particularly essential, inasmuch as the pro­ fession of education demands that all the resources of a uni3 versity be brought to bear upon common problems in education. Another plea for more cooperation among faculty mem­ bers of various departments was made as an outcome of the University of Oklahomafs success with the Doctor of Education 2 H.S. Ganders, "Graduate Work in Education," Journal of Higher Education, 13: 325-6, June, 1942* 3 Henry Holmes, "The University and the Education of Teachers," Teacher Education Journal, 1:20-26, June, 1939* L

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program*

The degree was placed under the direction of the

U

graduate school; hence all departments cooperated* In the case of school administrators, nearly half of the work is in the general field of business administra­ tion* ••The wisdom of having the Ed.D. a general graduate school degree rather than a school of education degree has been clearly demonstrated; under these conditions prejudices and differences tend'to disappear.^ The benefit of a broadened program derived from offering graduate education work in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was the keynote of thirteen .opinions, secured from, the Questionnaire, which favored this plan.

Cutting across

departmental lines, including related courses in an education studentfs program, utilizing the resources of the entire uni­ versity, were considered particularly important for the stu­ dent in school administration.

Accusations of segregation

and independence on the part of education departments were made by three of the respondents; the Graduate School control was deemed essential in order to balance the over-specializa tion of the "education people." Another reflection on the departments of education was contained in the reason given by six respondents for favoring the administration of education degrees in a general Graduate School: the assurance that high standards would be maintained throughout the university.

A proposal for a new graduate

program to train school administrators advised the work to be placed under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School to —

H.S. Dodge, "Training of University Teachers," School and Society, 49: 498, April, 1939. L

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65

i"-...forestall any possibility that the degree would be an

s

feasy! one, below the standards of the Graduate School in general." The central problem here is: which plan is more effec­ tive for an administrator^ training program?

Of the seventy-

two opinions gathered on this question, thirty-four were strongly in favor of the School of Education plan, precisely because the flexibility in programs, professionalized atmos­ phere, understanding of particular educational problems— secured in the School of Education alone— were thought best suited to the preparation of school administrators. To quote a few of the many thoughtful comments received: "more flexibility and personal guidance is possible,” "it is better integrated and controlled,”

"better range of under­

standing, more suitable adjustments of programs,”

"more apt

to be geared to actual needs of the profession and not crys­ tallized into formal graduate school patterns,”

"better

articulation from college through graduate work,”

"work can

be more functional and free of useless requirements,”

"courses

kept in closer touch with practice." Perhaps all of these views may be summed up in this statement:

"Educational administrators can no more effectively

be trained in the usual graduate school than can physicians or lawyers, for example.”

For the most part, the respondents

felt that Graduate Schools were burdened with traditional re­ quirements and "academic respectability” which would be a hindrance to effective administrative preparation.

j

66

r.

In defense of the School of Education as a separate

professional school with complete control, Bolton wrote: Do not abandon the school of education; do not merge (submerge) it with the college of arts and science* Improve it, provide the equipment needed to place it on a par with other professional schools of the university; give its faculty complete autonomy such as the other professional schools enjoy; and then demand and expect results comparable to the two outstanding examplesof 5 American higher education today-Medicine and Engineering. The most positive view on the matter of control was 6 stated at the 1948 Madison Conference. In stressing that the controlling department must be free from traditional academic ideas of study, the view was expressed that: Attainment of the freedom necessary to the adaptation of the program of preparation to the needs of the pro­ fession will require that the college, school, or de­ partment of education be given the necessary authority. Controls and regulations established outside the educa­ tion faculty should pertain only to matters of general institutional concern and should have no effect o n ,the scope, nature, or organization of the program for pre­ paring school administrators.*7 There may not be any one best solution to the problem. While six opinions favored a combination of both School of Education and Graduate School control, thirteen others were qualified statements in accordance with particular circum­ stances.

The two most salient conditions affecting the plan

^Fred E. Bolton, ”What To Do With University Schools of Education,” School and Society, 62:432, December 29, 1945. 6 Educational Leaders - Their Function and Preparation, A Report of the Second Work Conference of the National Con­ ference of Professors of Educational Administration, Madison, Wisconsin, 1948. 7 Ibid., p. 45

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67

bhosen for the administration of graduate education degrees were the size of the student body in this field and the per­ sonalities and policies involved.

One school may act as a

check on the other; a conservative School of Education and a progressive Graduate School can do equally as much in estab­ lishing effective programs.

The student and his program are

of ultimate importance, not the type of organization.

This .

was offset, however, by the numerous opinions which expressed doubt as to the progressiveness or flexibility of graduate schools as a whole. Data for the ninety schools, surveyed revealed that the Graduate School control or an affiliated control were the most typical situations; the Questionnaire opinions and the litera­ ture were in favor of the School of Education plan.

This

discrepancy between theory and practice may be a forecast of changed practices in the near future. Organized departments of educational administration. It was not always possible to determine from the university catalogues whether or not a School of Education or Graduate School Department of Education, as the case might be, main­ tained a separately organized department of educational admi­ nistration.

For this reason, the information was•requested

in the Questionnaire, and all but one of the returns contained a response to this item. Only twenty-two, or 24 per cent, of the universities had departmentalized the course offerings in educational L

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68

Administration.

The most influential factor in the existence

or absence of departmentalization within the field of educa­ tion was the size of the student body served.

In all but five

of the twenty-two schools, the undergraduate divisions regul­ arly enrolled over 5,000 students, which indicates that these universities were among the largest in fche country.

If that

is true, then departmental organization may serve adminis­ trative purposes only. Size or administrative function, however, did not enter into this matter to any great extent\ in the minds of the respondents to the Questionnaire, as evidenced by these stated opinions.

Of the eighty-two opinions expressed, fifty-five

were very definitely opposed to a separate department of edu­ cational administration; fourteen of this group favored it for very large institutions only.

A separate organization to se­

cure a professional and effective program for the school ad­ ministrator was favored by twenty-four respondents, but these Included eight statements which demanded utilization and close cooperation of other departments in the setting up of a wellbalanced program so essential to the effective administrator. Something of this trend of thought was found in the following excerpt from the New York University Bulletin. The departmental organization of the materials of in­ struction is convenient for administrative purposes. Such organization, however, not Infrequently over­ emphasizes the categories of knowledge and. underemphasizes the relationships of courses to each other and the functional values of individual courses. For this reason the student is strongly advised to consult curriculum directors and graduate advisers, as well as department L_

-1

69 8 i“

chairmen, before choosing his individual courses*

~i

For three respondents, the existence or absence of departmental organization mattered little; what was of deep cpncern was securing good faculty personnel and the proper ■ handling of students. The literature during the past twenty-year period points to the building of policy and practice away from strict departmentalization at the college and university 9 For example, opinions gathered by Hill.and Kelly,

levels*

denounced the multiplication of colleges and departments within a university as leading to over-specialization.

In

four of the colleges they surveyed, departments had been re­ placed by divisions which cut across departmental lines.

The

same trend toward broader divisional groupings was noted in 10 the Encyclopedia of Educational Research in 1941. Predictions relative to changes In various features of university education after the close of World War II were made 11 during the early part of the War. At that time, 1943, the

New York University Bulletin, School of Education, 1947-1948,Vol.47,No.31 (New York: New York University), p.52. 9D. S. Hill and F. J. Kelly, Economy in Higher Educa­ tion (New York: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1933), p. 70. ^"Colleges and Universities - Curriculum,M Encyclopedia of Educational Research, op.cit»#p. 238. 11

C.S. Marsh, "Research and Graduate Study After the War,11 The Educational Record, 24:358-376, October, 1943. L_

70

■Breaking down of departmental lines was still a "tendency” rather than an actuality and the prediction was made that after the War these harriers would he broken down hy the realization that departments should serve administrative purposes only. 12 On the hasis of data and opinions gathered hy Hollis in 1945, he concluded that doctoral training in education, to he effective, must he a group project transcending depart­ mental lines. The fact that only one-fourth of the schools surveyed had departmentalized their educational administration work found sanction in hoth the literature and Questionnaire opin­ ions.

The latter showed consistent opposition to departmen­

talization within the field of education for purposes other than administrative convenience. *

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS In the order of the steps usually pursued hy the student in his preparation for the administration field, the succeeding sections will consider entrance requirements, selection of majors and minors in educational administration for specific administrative positions, and the requirements for those gradu­ ate degrees which are intended primarily for the prospective school administrator. 12

Ernest V. Hollis, Toward Improving Ph.D. Programs (Washington,D.C.: American Council on Education, 1945), "pV 184. L J

71

r

A separate section of the Questionnaire was concerned”!

with techniques used to admit students to graduate work in education, and the qualifications universities looked for in their applicants*

No distinction was made between the master*s

and doctorfs levels in this matter, since the purpose was to determine how much attention was given to desirable qualities and how much screening

of undesirable applicants was done

at the initial registration of graduate students. The central point in this section,as in all others, Is the preparation of school administrators.

The qualifications

included in the Questionnaire represented characteristics desirable for school administrators, as discussed in the more recent literature on the subject. techniques and the screening-

The problem of selective process received considerable

attention at the 1947 Work-Conference of Professors of Edu­ cational Administration, to mention only one source. The 13 suggestion was made in the Conference Report that as selec­ tive techniques are developed and utilized and an effective guidance program put into operation, the problem of discon­ tinuing undesirable candidates should diminish. Although the Questionnaire for this present investi­ gation was prepared several months before the 1948 Madison _ _ _

John E. Marshall, editor, Developing Leaders for Education, A Report of a Work-Conference of Professors of Educational Administration at Endicott, New York, 1947, p. 44.

L

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72

Conference convened, the following techniques listed in the > 14 Conference Report were identical with those included in the Questionnaire: interview, recommendations, written materials to examine ability in written expression, and records of physical and mental health. The educational record.

Both the Questionnaire and

the catalogues were used to secure the data in this section. Respondents were asked to check whether or not their schools used the educational record of the student as an admission technique, and to check which of the following were noted on the record: undergraduate credits in education, a balanced amount of cultural subjects, and scholarship. Eighty-three, or 92 per cent, of the total number of schools required the applicant to submit his undergraduate record to be evaluated for one or more of the qualifications listed above.

Three of the respondents checked the quali­

fications which the Questionnaire listed under this technique, but did not indicate that the educational record was reviewed for the information. Undergraduate work in education was required in seventytwo, or 80 per cent, of the universities, before the student might pursue this field at the graduate level.

This is an

indication that education at the graduate level becomes a _

_

_

_

_

Eduqational Leaders - Their Function and Preparation, op.cit., p. 47. L

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73

Specialized field and hence must be based on general undergraduate preparation.

!

In eighteen schools, however, the

undergraduate record evidently was not considered. A

study of the catalogues of the schools surveyed re­

vealed exactly how much undergraduate credit in education was considered prerequisite to the pursuance of graduate education courses.

For the thirty-nine universities which specified the

number of credits required, the range extended from 7 to 30 semester hours, with a mode of 15 credits.

Descriptive rather

than numerical prerequisites, stipulated by the other univer­ sities, included the equivalent of an undergraduate major in education, adequate preparation for graduate study in educa­ tion, or a four-year teacher-training program. In those catalogues which specified not only the number of credits but the actual courses in education to be presented by the entering graduate students, the following courses, in order of frequency, were required: educational psychology, methods of teaching, history of education, tests and measure­ ments, principles of education, school administration, philo­ sophy of education, statistics, educational sociology, ele­ mentary and secondary education.

This typical undergraduate

curriculum in education'was related to graduate offerings for aspiring school administrators, since the policy of speciali­ zation at the graduate level would be determined by the type of undergraduate program the student had pursued. Recognition was given to the amount of cultural sub­ jects the students’ undergraduate record showed in fifty-one^j

74 qrr 57 per cent, of the schools reporting.

This item was not-j

deemed as important as undergraduate preparation in the edu­ cation field, which would imply perhaps that the concept of a broad cultural background as the desirable foundation for specialization in education was not as widespread as the litera ture suggests. The importance placed on scholarship as an entrance requirement for graduate education students was attested to by the fact that seventy-eight (86 per cent) of the schools checked this item in the Questionnaire.

There can be no

doubt, however - when the significance of scholarship at the graduate level is considered - that there should have been a 100 per cent response.

Graduate divisions stated in their

catalogues specifically what point average an applicant’s undergraduate record must show.

Statements of C or B as marks

had little meaning when viewed for all the schools, since they varied among the universities in their interpretations. What is of importance is that in no case did graduate divisions lower their scholarship standards for education students. In forty-one schools, the three aforementioned quali­ fications were considered desirable in graduate applicants. College recommendations.

In contrast with the high

percentage of schools using the educational record as an ad­ mission technique, the forty-three schools, or 48 per cent, which checked the use of the college-recommendation technique may seem to be few. L

In twenty-nine schools, or 32 per cent, J

75

art

was not required for admission, and in one institution,

'

it was used only for the awarding of scholarships and assistantships. Three qualifications, which could be judged by recom­ mendations from the applicants college, were listed in the Questionnaire: his ability to get along with people, his par­ ticipation in extra-curricular activities, and his leadership in school affairs*

Although seventy-two answered the ques­

tions relative to the college-recommendation technique, very few schools were concerned with the characteristics listed* The applicant’s ability to get along with people received attention in twenty-seven (30 per cent) schools; his partici­ pation in extra-curricular activities was deemed important in only nine schools (10 per cent); his leadership in school af­ fairs was considered in twenty-six schools (29 per cent). Only nine graduate divisions checked all 3 of* the quali­ fications listed in this section.

Although one of the univer­

sities requested letters from the student’s past instructors, stress was placed on educational achievement and not on leader­ ship qualities. The interview.

The interview technique as a method of

selecting graduate students in education was fairly common and it was used in fifty-seven, or 63 per cent, of the total num­ ber of schools surveyed, although six of these•institutions used it only occasionally. Pour characteristics of a very personal nature were L

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76

included under the interview technique as they can probably best be determined by this method.

These qualities are not

to be considered as all-inclusive, but they received atten­ tion in the literature as desirable characteristics for school administrators.

They are: character, appearance, speech, and

poise• These four personal traits were required, individually, by fewer than one-half of the universities.

General character

was taken into account in forty-three schools, 48 per cent of the total,

A pleasing appearance was given cognizance in *

thirty-four, or 38 per cent, of the schools.

Almost the same

number, thirty-two, or 36 per cent, considered the applicants ability to speak well, while thirty-nine divisions (43 per cent) gave importance to the student1s poise.

In one of the

schools included above, these characteristics were summarized by the phrase ’’general all-round promise. ”

Marked attention

was paid to personal traits of entering students in one uni­ versity, although the latter were not interviewed.

Only twenty-,

nine schools (28 per cent) checked all 4 characteristics. Examinations.

The last of the 4 admission techniques

included in the Questionnaire was examinations.

Specific

mention was made of the Graduate Record Examination, a test of the applicant1s .ability in written English, and a certificate of a satisfactory health examination. Some type of entrance examination was required in fiftytwo, or 58 per cent, of the graduate divisions.

Three other

77

Schools checked ’’no" under the column headed 11Examinations" although they used the Graduate Record .Examination,

In addi­

tion to the thirty-seven schools (41 per cent) requiring the Graduate Record Examination, eight other universities admi­ nistered a psychological or educational aptitude test of their own,

-In twenty-two schools, the applicant had to meet a

written English requirement, and in only thirteen cases was he asked to submit a health certificate.

These represented

24 per cent and 14 per cent of the schools, respectively. Certain comments accompanied these data in the Ques­ tionnaires,

For example, one institution, included in the

above figures,-used the technique for doctoral applicants only. Another university used all of them to assist in the selec­ tion of the candidate^ advisers, but not as entrance tech­ niques although the respondent felt that they should be utilized for that purpose.

In the case of a respondent v/ho checked

"no" to the employment of the techniques, the view was expressed that the techniques and qualifications listed were important and deserving of attention. The data discussed in this section are presented in Tables IIIA and IIIB, In the order of frequency of use, the admission techniques were: the educational record, the interview, examinations, and college recommendations.

It must be admitted that no graduate

school can expect to have a fairly complete idea of its new students from an educational record alone; yet this was the

P P PQ < PEh Eh Eh " School Executlye’s Magazine. 49:14-15, September, 1929. The Superintendent of Schools and His Work. Final Report of the American Association of School Administrators. Washington,D.C; The American Association of School Administrators, 1940. 48 pp.