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In recent years, concern has been expressed that emphasis upon scientific and technological progress may have resulted in the relative neglect of the humanities, both in societal culture generally and in preparation for positions of social leadership. At present, the role of the humanities in educational administration preparatory programs is, by and large, negligible. A review of the literature suggests that there are at least three rationales which would support the introduction of humanities content into such programs: (1) to generally “liberalize” the student through broad exposure to humanistic content; (2) to train the administrator in purpose definition and value sensitivity through focused reading of philosophy and literature; and (3) to develop creative capacities in the prospective leader through the study of literature and other arts. It is recommended that attempts should be made to incorporate humanities content into preparatory programs in educational administration, that initial efforts should stress the latter two of the three above rationales, and that the endeavor should be undertaken in a preparatory institution by a three‐man team consisting of a humanities scholar, a professor of educational administration, and a school administrator.

The intention is to review the literature dealing with the role and status of research in preparation programmes for educational administrators, and to generate alternative ways to incorporate research into the programmes. To guide the reviews and to generate alternatives, a framework consisting of three categories is used – a historical perspective, the knowledge base and faculty orientations. A primary conclusion is that educational administration must not only improve the quality and increase the quantity of research, but programmes must also be changed to include research in central and coherent ways.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key individuals, associations and significant events contributing to the establishment and first 50 years of successful publication of the Journal of Educational Administration.

This paper is historical in design. Information relevant to its 50 years of publication has been obtained from the JEA's 172 Editorials and from minutes of Editorial Advisory Board and Management Committee meetings, supplemented by personal editorial memoranda.

Recognised as one of the leading generalist international journals in its field, the Journal of Educational Administration has until recently been edited in Australia. The most eminent international scholars in the field have published in the JEA throughout its lifetime. Esteemed scholars have also occupied positions on its Editorial Board. The JEA has enjoyed close and supportive associations with several prominent professional organisations including UCEA and CCEA.

This paper does not include detailed information about the content of the almost 1,000 articles published throughout its history. This is the subject of other specific research undertakings.

The JEA was the first generalist international journal in the field of educational administration. Its first volume appeared in 1963. It has reached the age of 50 years and hence this paper's report of such may provide a basis for similar studies of other journals as they achieve significant milestones.

Scholarship in educational administration is considered from the perspective of a former journal editor. It is proposed that the development of scholarly skills is missing from advanced preparation in educational administration. Yet the skills of enquiry, analysis and writing are essential in any profession and critical to thought and development in professional fields. The import of writing and scholarship for a field of practice like the administration of education is treated, along with reasons for the current state of affairs.

The analysis of periodicals can provide important insights into the changing nature and dynamics of academic disciplines and fields of study. The Journal of Educational Administration (JEA) has for the past 25 years grown up alongside the field which it seeks both to represent and develop, and it is thus of considerable interest to look at the contents of the JEA in light of this role. A study was made of all the articles published in the JEA during the period 1963‐87 with a view to establishing authorship patterns; the types of papers which have been published; the common themes and the range of topics addressed; the nature of empirical research; and changes in both substantive and methodological orientations over the past 25 years. The analysis and discussion looked at the JEA as offering a window into the “world” of educational administration, but noted that a journal can only ever mirror that which is held up to it and ultimately to its readership.

Promotes and justifies a stronger comparative emphasis in the study of educational administration and management. Addresses questions such as, why adopt a comparative approach to educational administration? Why ground a comparative approach in culture? and, why focus on school organisation, leadership and management as the baseline unit for comparison? In systematically addressing these questions, the paper begins by acknowledging that comparative educational administration has, at best, a weak knowledge base. It goes on to clarify the potential importance of a comparative dimension to the field, and in particular, a comparative approach reflecting a cross‐cultural perspective. Finally, the paper briefly addresses a number of key issues which, it is argued, could inform initiatives to create a robust cross‐cultural approach to comparative educational administration

In this paper, which was presented at the second Inter‐American Congress on Educational Administration, held July 29‐August 2, 1984 in Brasilia, DF, Brazil, the author sketches criteria for a philosophy that could contribute to advancement in educational administration. He then examines some positions and issues in the light of the criteria.

An outstanding example of the development of the co‐operative movement in U.S. higher education is the University Council for Educational Administration. An outgrowth of the Kellogg — C.P.E.A. program, U.C.E.A. membership now numbers 48 leading universities. The Council's mission is to improve the professional preparation of administrative personnel in education through the creation and use of new modes of university inter‐communication and co‐operation. Much attention has been paid to the development of case studies (written, taped and filmed) and simulation materials, and to the encouragement of research and the development of theory in educational administration. Present plans include the establishment of a professional journal, the establishment of an abstracting service and the promotion of communication on the international level.

In this paper, which was presented at a Conference for Lecturers in Educational Administration held in Melbourne in August 1981, the author expands upon past criticisms of the phenomenological and Marxist perspectives, provides an extensive analysis of the concept of loose coupling and puts forward a philosophical alternative to the phenomenological and positivistic positions. The interplay of philosophical viewpoints with issues in theory, research and preparation in educational administration is emphasized.

This paper is devoted to the topic of how mathematics might be more efficiently used in educational administration. The position taken here is that mathematics is a branch of philosophy whose subject matter is a set of abstract entities and identified operational rules. It is a vocabulary of symbols that can be used to label objects and, more importantly, a set of grammatical rules for using the vocabulary. The paper begins with a review of some recent developments reported in the social science literature on the uses of mathematics in political science, sociology and economics, and ends with some illustrations of how these developments could lead to similar applications in both the practice and theory domains of educational administration.