EXAMINING EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT SKILLS in PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS by Michael Leitera Submit
KNOWLEDGE BASE REVISITED: EXAMINING EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT SKILLS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS By Michael Leitera Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor in Educational Leadership YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY December, 2019 KNOWLEDGE BASE REVISITED: EXAMINING EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT SKILLS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS Michael T. Leitera I hereby release this dissertation to the public. I understand that this dissertation will be made available from the OhioLINK ETD Center and the Maag Library Circulation Desk for public access. I also authorize the University or other individuals to make copies of this thesis as needed for scholarly research. Signature: ________________________________________________ Michael T. Leitera, Student Date Approvals: Dr. Karen H. Larwin, Dissertation Chair Date Dr. Lauren Cummins, Committee Member Date Dr. Patrick Spearman, Committee Member Date Dr. Vaughn Bicehouse, Committee Member Date Dr. Salvatore A. Sanders, Dean of Graduate Studies Date ii Abstract Research supports the theory that evidence-based management practices increase efficiencies in organizations. This study explores the use of evidence-based management among school principals and recognizes the differences with the autonomy and accountability of school system administrators. The review of literature examines the history of management in education, the ongoing debate over a knowledge base for educational administration, positivism and postmodern considerations, and a more utilitarian approach to the epistemological debate in educational leadership. The research study instrument is based upon an adapted World Management Survey, Education Instrument (World Management Survey, n.d.) and uses forced-choice survey and narrative response formats. Basic descriptive statistics were computed and analyzed and indicated a moderate level of application [operations, (M= 3.6), performance, (M= 3.69), target, (M= 3.45), and talent, (M= 3.02)] for each of the management factors measured by the survey.
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