This book probes the intellectual foundations of scholarly inquiry into educational administration, policy, and politics. The question of whether, and if so how, social science theories and methods contribute to an understanding of these issues is hotly debated today. Is there really a scientific basis for evaluating and/or improving educational administration, politics and policy? The contributors—all recognized scholars in the fields of educational organization, administration, policy and politics—tackle the question of epistemology directly, addressing anew what rules of scholarly conduct should guide research and practice in the field, and how those rules of inquiry should guide the training of scholars and education professionals. The Introduction places the chapters in a common intellectual framework for rebuilding confidence in social science inquiry and of the legitimacy of the university as an arbiter of scientific knowledge claims.

New Foundations for Knowledge in Educational Administration, Policy, and Politics: Science and Sensationalism is directed to research scholars, faculty, graduate students, and policy agency staffers in the fields of educational policy, politics, and administration; educational evaluation; and educational foundations. It is well suited as a text for graduate courses in these areas.