"There is no good theory without practice, and no good practice without theory." (paraphrased from Kurt Lewin)
Research and Scholarship - ACTION RESEARCH - scroll to bottom
I have always tried to follow Kurt Lewin’s teaching that there is no good practice without theory (research) and no good theory (research) without practice. I do not dichotomize between academic research and the world of practice in educational management. Most of my scholarship and writing have attempted to blend the two.
Research, for me, is an ongoing, strategic, intellectually engaging, academically rigorous process of reflective inquiry aiming to contribute to the world of theory, ideas, and practice within the field of educational leadership. Please refer to my vitae (CV) for details, but allow me to just provide a sampling of some works that I am most proud of that aimed to accomplish, at least in part, the lofty idea I espoused above:
1. A book I co-authored: Revisiting Dewey: Best practices for educating the whole child.
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2. A book I co-edited: Supervision: New perspectives for theory and practice.
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3. Another co-edited volume: Paradigm debates in curriculum and supervision: Modern and post-modern perspectives
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4. Two articles, albeit both very different from each other:
A. Action research by practitioners: A case study of a high school's attempt to create transformational change. Journal of Practitioner Research, 1(1), Article , http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jpr/vol1/iss1/3
B. On vulnerability and transformative leadership: An imperative for leaders of supervision. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 10(2), 115-135.
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Finally, I continue to read, learn, write, and publish because the academic world of scholarship has the potential to contribute significantly to better schools, better teachers and administrators, and high achievement for all students