K-12 Case Studies for School Administrators

Problems, Issues, and Resources

Marcia Norton, Paula E. Lester

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781138304116
• eBook ISBN: 9781351387637
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Case studies enable aspiring administrators to refine their reaction skills as well as their critical-thinking skills by responding to a multitude of problems in a short time. Originally published in 1998, the case studies in this book provide a broad-based overview of the kinds of real problems that schools were facing at the time. The problems administrators face on a daily basis vary in scope and complexity. Short cases provide opportunities to address, analyse, and resolve problems encountered in the real working environment. Students must actively engage in a process of inquiry and problem solving. This book can be used over several years according to the case studies selected for class use. This is a multicourse, multiyear action case-study text.

Chapter One
Historical Background of Case Studies

Case studies in various forms trace their origins to ancient Greece and China. Myths, for example, were allegorical narratives of episodes in the lives of legendary figures and served an important purpose by instructing the masses in the moral way of life. Apostles and theologians as well as teachers and philosophers used stories, parables, or narration of experiences to convey some "moral" or "teaching."

More recently, theorists such as John Dewey, Alfred North Whitehead, Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget, and Benjamin Bloom contributed to the development of case method learning. The philosophical theories of John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead provided the initial theoretical foundation. Dewey, the father of pragmatism, developed the concept that learning is rooted in experience and that knowledge derives from a process of inquiry that is often best found in the development of problem-solving situations (Dewey, 1938). Inherent in this concept is "active learning," which involves the learner as questioner and reflective participant. The learner becomes a "doer" and a "problem solver." It is generally agreed that this mode of learning is more effective and enduring than passive learning, in which the learner is the passive receiver of established knowledge.

In Whitehead's theory of intellectual progress, three states are described: "romance," "precision," and "generalization" (Whitehead, 1960). "Romance" introduces the student to active involvement with the learning situation, where an emotional connection and curiosity are present. Once active engagement takes place, the student moves to the "precision" stage, where he is required to systematically analyze and synthesize facts, data, generalizations, and concepts in order to understand the problems presented. The final stage, "generalization," integrates "romance" and "precision" and fosters intellectual satisfaction and a sense of closure.

Bruner's "theory of instruction" provides an additional influence. He emphasized the academic usefulness of games that involve people in the learning process (Bruner, 1975). Bruner discussed how problem-based learning activities place individuals initially in a state of "disequilibrium," which produces the need for explanation through questioning by the individual. These learning activities involve contrast, informed guessing, setting hypotheses, participation, and stimulation of self-consciousness.

Piaget was another contributor to the interactive situational approach. He theorized that knowledge and understanding develop when learners are actively involved in the learning process. In this theory, active involvement takes the form of problem solving and social interaction, producing qualitative changes in thought. Piaget's concepts of active involvement, autonomy, and constructivism are interrelated and emphasize experiential learning through which knowledge is not received from external sources but originates and evolves in the participants as they interact with and interpret environmental stimuli (Brainerd, 1978; Wadsworth, 1989).

Bloom's Taxonomy also has implications for case method application. Case studies are effective in the practice of Bloom's higher-level thinking skills of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. They provide a way for the student to experience the interrelationship between course concepts and facts in real-life situations at the divergent, rather than the convergent, level of thinking skills.

Interest in the use of case studies as learning tools has been reported in the literature for the past one hundred years as a means of bridging the gap between academic knowledge and what happens in the "real world." As early as 1870, case studies were used at Harvard Law School, By 1915 the case method was the "pervasive methodology in the law schools of the country" (Culbertson, 1964), and in the 1930s case studies in public administration were developed (Asbaugh and Kasten, 1991).

In the 1940s case materials were developed for preparation programs for school administrators. The purpose of this early use of case studies was to provide "vicarious administrative experience and to afford the opportunities for intuitive decision-making" (Culbertson, 1964). It was not until the 1960s and 1970s, however, that colleges and universities began to use case studies to relate theories of educational administration to the practice in the field. The University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) was at the forefront of case and simulation development during this era and published several "sets" of studies within the contextual, cultural framework of specific school districts. These case studies were developed in conjunction with administrators of actual school districts. During this period several case books were published for elementary and secondary school administrators. Authors included Hamburg (1957); Everett, Downing, and Leavitt (1967); Atkins, Bottom, et al. (1968); Ranniger, Bessent, and Greer (1969); Jarvis (1971); and Lloyd-Jones, Barry, and Wolf (1956) among others.

The impetus for developing and publishing case studies in the field of educational administration waned in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Ironically, this decline in the use of practical reality-based case studies and simulations occurred at the same time that traditional preparation programs for educational administrators were coming under frequent attack.

There have been some common criticisms of administrative preparation programs including "the remoteness of academic programs from the problems of the field, the passive nature of most instruction, and the failure to present theoretical constructs in ways that are meaningful to students and practicing administrators" (Asbaugh and Kasten, 1991). In addition, graduates of educational administration programs complained (and continue to complain) that university programs did not provide the opportunity for applying theoretical knowledge to actual situations. These graduates also felt that the theory itself was often irrelevant to real-life situations.

Several other sources also criticized departments of educational administration for low standards, and failure to include "clinical experiences" as well as weak linkages to the practitioners and the real problems they face daily (Pitner 1988; Achilles, 1984; Peterson and Finn 1985; Hawley, 1988; among others). Even more recently, in the first of two reports issued in 1991, the National Commission for the Principalship stated that graduate programs that prepare administrators for the public schools have failed to move with the times (Chronicle of Higher Education, January 9, 1991).

By 1985 the professional associations began to respond to this criticism. The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) published a special report titled Performance-Based Preparation of Principals (1985), which put forth recommendations for bridging the gap between the conceptual learning of the classroom and the requirements of professional practice. Recommendations included the use of case studies, simulation materials, computer simulations, instructional modules, group processes, and project courses. The National Commission on Excellence in Educational Administration's report in 1987 challenged scholars to seek new models for administrative training similar to those in professional medical, business, and law schools, which emphasize applied knowledge as well as theoretical and clinical knowledge. UCEA's Occasional Paper, Educational Administration: Reform PDQ or RIP suggested that "problems might well be posed through vehicles of computer simulations, cases, and filmed incidents, as well as actual problems in the schools" (Griffiths, 1988).

Reports that called for improving administrative preparation programs included two recommendations that focused on developing skills (analytical, problem solving, report writing) and using different instructional methods for content (case studies, simulations, role playing). The difference is between "knowing about" and "knowing how to do" certain tasks. Pitner (1988) recommended programs that more effectively mirror the actual working conditions of practicing administrators. He states that the principal's day involves "a continuous series of brief, disjointed, verbal encounters with a variety of people seeking solutions or responses to a multitude of contingencies." Principals face demanding situations requiring immediate decisions and a highly developed repertoire of critical-thinking skills. The job requires the principal to be able to quickly shift mental and emotional gears; therefore, administrative training should reflect these needs.

In the 1990s the focus in educational administration training programs has become broader based and addresses "problem-based learning." There is once again a growing interest in the use of case studies and simulations in administrative training programs, although it is not known whether these approaches have been widely adopted in educational administration classrooms.

In order to coordinate and consolidate efforts on a national level in developing problem-based learning activities, the National Policy Board for Educational Administration and the Danforth Foundation sponsored a national conference on "Problem Based Learning for Educational Leadership Programs" in San Francisco in April 1992. This conference was the first national meeting of educators interested in developing a problem-based approach to preparing school leaders. The program featured general sessions on the theory and practice of problem-based instruction and fourteen extended, "hands-on" workshops that allowed the participants to experience the problem-based approach. The National Policy Board for Educational Administration has subsequently identified 21 administrative skill areas within 4 domains (functional, programmatic, interpersonal, and contextual). Leadership Training Associates and The National Association of Secondary Principals have developed training modules in several of the domains that contain case study materials for practicing administrators.

Problem-based learning using the case-study approach can help alleviate current training deficits. This approach provides opportunities for participants to assess their own administrative styles and attitudes, to analyze their personal value systems within the cultural and political context of the organization, and to measure their beliefs against the expectations of the various constituencies with whom they must interact. The case-study method also provides opportunities to address, analyze, and resolve problems encountered in the real working environment. In order to solve the problems with which they are confronted, students have to engage in a process of inquiry and problem analysis in an active manner.

Case studies can be responsive to particular contexts and are ideal for training in a time of reform and restructuring in public education. The context of schooling has changed and continues to change. In addition, social and institutional changes are constantly taking place. Carefully developed case studies can capture this context in a way that enhances the training of new school leaders as well as the retraining of present school leaders.

The case-method approach provides a safe environment and time for reflection, analysis, and feedback. Case studies afford the aspiring administrator an opportunity to address problems in near-real situations in preservice programs. They also provide practicing administrators with the opportunity to expand their repertoire of administrative skills through in-service programs. The case-study approach can provide students of educational administration with the needed grounding in appraisal of specific situations and the opportunity to discover alternative interpretations and choices of strategies as they refine their decision-making and communication skills.

There seems to be a general agreement that cases and simulations provide a means for in-depth analysis, which supplements technical skills covered in text and lecture material and that these, and other problem-based learning approaches, are essential components of future training programs for school administrators. Case studies alleviate the problems that new administrators encounter when they attempt to integrate what they have learned in class and from texts and have difficulty accomplishing this because of the complexity and uncertainty of the problems, and the intangible nature of human interactions in any given situation. Transfer of training is facilitated when the students see the connection between what they have learned and the present situation confronting them. Case studies allow the students to apply theoretical analysis because they are removed from the pressures and sense of urgency of the school setting.

References

Achilles, C. 1984. Forecast: Stormy Weather Ahead in Educational Administration. Issues in Education 11(2).

Asbaugh, C.R., and K.. Kasten. 1991. Educational Leadership: Case Studies for Reflective Practice. White Plains, NY. Longman Publishing Group.

Atkins, T., and R. Bottom et al. 1968. Simulated Case Studies. Washington, DC. Department of Elementary School Principals.

Brainerd, C.J. 1978. Piaget's Theory of Intelligence. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice-Hall.

Bruner, J. 1975. Towards a Theory of Ins...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Original Title
• Original Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter One Historical Background of Case Studies
• Chapter Two Purposes of Case Studies
• Chapter Three Elementary-School Case Studies
• Chapter Four Middle-School and Junior-High Case Studies
• Chapter Five High-School Case Studies
• Chapter Six Support-Staff Case Studies
• Index