BIOGRAPHY
My research agenda over the years has and continues to focus on the following question:
Given the life and society we envision for ourselves (politics of education), what we know about the teaching-learning process, what we know about organizations and organizational dynamics (organization theory and micropolitics), and the reality of scarce resources (organization economics), what is the most effective and efficient way to organize and to lead educational organizations so as to educate citizens and realize this life and society?
Consider the challenges of answering this question:
- causal links to good life/society unknown – Even if agreement exists regarding what the good life and society are, knowing how to realize both can be unknown.
- competing visions – There are competing visions/definitions of what constitutes the ‘good’ life and society.
- uncertainty of core task: teaching-learning – Our knowledge of teaching and learning are incomplete.
- organizational complexity and unpredictability – Organizations are complex and at times unpredictable. This is because: 1) the people who inhabit them can be unpredictable, 2) the core tasks they perform can be complicated/complex, and 3) resources are typically scarce.
- effectiveness: challenges of defining, measuring – Organizational effectiveness can be hard to define, much less measure.