The Impact of Bill Foster's Contributions to the Shifting Paradigms of Educational Leadership

• In Event: 46.021 - Theory, History, Debates, and Paradigm Wars: Whence the Field of Educational Administration?

Abstract

Over the last thirty years, the discourse in educational leadership has undergone some rather radical transitions. Undoubtedly, the paradigm wars that characterized the shifting of the educational leadership language were spurred on by the seasons and times in our cultural history in which the field was then enmeshed. The 1980s and 90s were decades that saw the residuals of the revolutionary 70s and the contending conservative practices whose aim was to right the course that the liberal and radical elements had infused in the culture, combating to gain a footing in institutions, especially in schools. Though school leadership was one of those areas that were being reconsidered, it is very wise to acknowledge that leadership, in general, during this period, was going through shifts in principles and practices. Burns (1978), Bass (1990) and Foster (1986) all contributed to the shifting in the leadership vernacular. But Foster, however, had one of the most compelling treatises on transforming educational leadership specifically.
In Paradigms and promises: New approaches to educational administration, Foster’s seminal text on school leadership, he dares to demystify notions of power and more especially asymmetrical power relations that had historically grounded the tenets and practices of educational leadership. Foster argues for a broader venue or sphere of influence that the school leader enjoys. Further, he maintains that the notions of scientific management or Taylorism, the human relations movement, the behaviorally based scientific notions of organizational structure and even the transitioning thinking on theorizing educational leadership (Culbertson, 1988) did not forthrightly deal with issues of power, deconstructing the grand narratives that undergirded these issues of power nor offered solutions to the oppressive leadership performances that emanated from the positivist administrative principles.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical contributions Bill Foster made to the changing landscape of educational leadership. No doubt, Foster’s work was among one of the first to deconstruct educational leadership through a critical theoretical lens. That being the case then, Foster’s intellectual contributions to the discourse may well have been the grounding for the subsequent discussions of educational leadership and social justice. Since 1986, the publishing of Paradigms and promises, Forster’s use of critical theory has undergone its own critique especially when notions of race, gender and sexual orientation became more prominent foci of the grammar of educational leadership. However, it is important to both celebrate and critique Foster’s offerings to the transitioning of school administration. Concepts such as transformative leadership, critical spirituality, and critical race theory will be used to assess the scholarly impact of Foster’s work on the field.

Author

• Michael E. Dantley, Miami University