EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

AND CULTURAL RELEVANCE

BennoSander

Professor of Education Policy and Management

This study has many versions published in numerous languages and countries,
including chapter II of the book Educational management in Latin America:
construction and reconstruction of knowledge, Buenos Aires, Editorial Troquel,
1996

The examination of the evolution of administrative thought in the 20th century and
the evaluation of the results of recent studies carried out in the field of educational
administration reveal that, at the end of the century, administrative theory faces
difficult conceptual and praxiological challenges throughout. the world. Latin
America is no exception. This finding suggests the urgent need to make new
efforts to construct and reconstruct scientific and technological knowledge in the
field of educational management. These reconstructionist efforts are also imposed
as a consequence of the growing expansion and complexity of educational systems
and as a result of social awareness about the nature of education in modern
society.

The first objective of this essay is to present some historical efforts to construct
scientific knowledge in the field of educational administration. Then, a
multidisciplinary heuristic paradigm is stated to study educational management in
Latin America1. This paradigm is based on the deconstruction and reconstruction
of historically accumulated knowledge, constituting an attempt at a theoretical
synthesis of the Latin American experience of educational management in the
international context. Within the scope of this historical vision, however, the
multidimensional paradigm also seeks to provide efficient, effective, effective and
relevant organizational and administrative responses to the current demands and
needs of Latin American education. Finally, this intellectual effort is supported by
the thesis of the specificity of educational management as a professional field of
study and by the awareness of the need to build a comprehensive theory of the
professional practice of educational administration.

HISTORIC CONTEXT

The study of the development of the administration of Latin American education,

reviewed in the previous chapter, follows the steps, although outdated in time, of
the evolution of pedagogical and administrative theories developed in Europe and
the United States of America. After the legal orientation, essentially normative and
closely linked to the tradition of Roman administrative law that characterized
educational management throughout colonial history, Latin American countries
began to adopt, starting in the first decades of the 20th century, a technocratic
approach, founded on the principles of the classical school of administration
defended by Taylor, Fayol and their followers and interpreters.2 At that time,
scholars and managers of Latin American education, following the theoretical paths
traced in Europe and the United States of America, worship predominantly
efficiency and economic productivity , with reduced concern for the human
dimension and considerations of a cultural and political nature of educational
management.

After the Second World War, with the growing prestige of the sciences of human
behavior, educational administration in Latin America, influenced by the
functionalist theories of the psychosociological school of North American
administration, began to adopt a behavioral approach.3 At that time, the
effectiveness in achieving the pedagogical goals and objectives of educational
institutions and systems became the main administrative concern of thinkers and
managers of Latin American education. For the protagonists of the behavioral
construction, the concept of economic efficiency is subsumed by that of
institutional effectiveness as a criterion of administrative performance.

Since the sixties, a growing use of social sciences in educational management has
been observed in Latin America in line with the theoretical tradition of the
contemporary school of administration.4 Two constructions dispute the academic
space: the developmentalism of the authors foreigners and the sociological
perspective of Latin American authors. In contemporary approaches to
administration, the technical and instrumental criteria of efficiency and
effectiveness of traditional administration are subsumed by the political criterion of
effectiveness . Educators become predominantly concerned with the social
responsibility of educational management and with their ability to respond
effectively to the demands and needs of citizens.

Finally, some of the recent cutting-edge theoretical developments try a cultural

approach, highlighting relevance as the main guiding criterion in the study and
practice of educational management. Consequently, the concepts of efficiency,
effectiveness and effectiveness used in the administration of Latin American
education are analyzed and used in light of the concept of relevance as a cultural
criterion of educational management. The importance of the cultural approach is
accentuated today by the need to rescue, in light of human relevance, the true
instrumental value of efficiency and effectiveness that are reaffirmed as defining
criteria of the productivist and competitive logic that characterize today's society.
The strategy to achieve high levels of relevance, capable of rescuing the true value
of the other criteria of administrative performance in educational management, is
citizen participation in the context of democracy as a form of government.5

FOUR CONSTRUCTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

From this historical perspective of administrative theory and its presence in Latin
American education, it is possible to outline four different constructions of
educational management: efficient administration, effective administration,
effective administration and relevant administration. The four constructions are
defined and delimited based on the four criteria historically adopted to evaluate
and guide administrative performance: efficiency, effectiveness, effectiveness and
relevance. One of the ways to outline the theoretical contours of each of the four
constructs is to define the nature of the respective administrative performance
criteria that determine their existence. This is a controversial issue, since the
specialized literature on the subject reveals a general lack of terminological and
semantic definition. Indeed, it is common to confuse efficiency with effectiveness;
effectiveness with effectiveness; effectiveness with relevance. Recognized
dictionaries affirm that effective is synonymous with efficient, while at the same
time ensuring that effective is equivalent to effective.

Translators of specialized texts translate effectiveness by effectiveness, while

others translate it by efficacy.6 The protagonists of the management theories
themselves do not understand each other on this point. The meanings of efficiency
and effectiveness diverge among classical authors - such as Taylor, Emerson and
Callahan - 7 and among behaviorists - such as Barnard, Simon and Getzels.8 For
their part, contemporary authors do not show a clear path to differentiate the
concepts of effectiveness and relevance in their management theories.

These conceptual indefinitions impose the need to make a new effort to define the
administrative criteria adopted in the administration of education, with the
objective of enabling their adequate use as analytical and praxiological
instruments. This definition is particularly necessary to characterize the nature of
the action of educational administrators in their daily practice. The following
historical reading, which emphasizes the nature of administrative performance
criteria, is a contribution in that sense.

EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION

As a heuristic construction of educational management, efficient administration is a

conceptual derivation of the classical school of administration and an analytical
induction of the practice of school and university administrators who guide their
behavior in accordance with the general principles of organization and
administration developed at the beginning. of the 20th century in the economic
and rationalist context of the consolidation of the Industrial Revolution. From this
perspective it is possible to characterize the organization as a closed, mechanical
and rational system, in which administrative mediation is primarily supported by
the concept of efficiency. Efficiency (from the Latin efficientia, action, force, virtue
of producing) is the economic criterion that reveals the administrative capacity to
produce the maximum results with the minimum resources, energy and time. In
the history of administrative thought, the notion of efficiency is associated with the
concepts of economic rationality and material productivity, regardless of its human
and political content and its ethical nature.

The supreme value of efficiency is productivity: "efficiency implies proven

capability based on operational productivity and primarily emphasizes the ability to
perform well and economically."9 Inherent in that performance is technical
preparation measured in terms of mastery of know-how. how, and the
maximization of the use of time, energy, material and other resources. In that
sense, efficient is the one that produces the maximum with the minimum of waste,
cost and effort, that is, the one that in its action presents a high product/input
ratio.

The concept of efficiency was the central criterion of the classical school of
administration led by Fayol, Weber, Taylor and their associates.10 Fayol's
efficiency is reflected in the procedural functionalism of his universalist model.
Weber conceived rational bureaucracy as an ideal model for achieving technical
efficiency. Taylor's notions about efficiency are identified with the mechanomorphic
conceptions that guide his studies on time and motion in industrial activity.
Taylor's concepts were later reinterpreted and perfected by Emerson, whose work,
The Twelve Principles of Efficiency, is a classic in the history of administrative
thought.11 Strongly influenced by the Protestant ethic, Emerson's approach is
clearly economic, postulating that Productivity and prosperity are not a function of
abundance, but rather result from "ambition and the desire for success and
wealth."12

Classical psychological management established the framework for the

development of industrial psychology which, in Wundt's terms, aims to study the
psychological person alongside the economic person of Taylor and his associates.
Industrial psychology, founded in the early 20th century by Münsterberg of
Harvard University, is dedicated to human efficiency which, like the mechanical
efficiency of engineers, aims to increase productivity in work and activity. human
in general.13 The influence of psychology would become increasingly accentuated
in organizational and administrative theory throughout the first decades of the
20th century until it became the dominant discipline of the human relations
movement of the psychosocial school of administration. .

Concerns related to productivity and rationality in the use of instruments and

operating procedures constitute basic elements to define efficiency as a criterion of
economic performance of educational management. As a criterion of economic
performance, measured in terms of administrative capacity to achieve a high
degree of productivity, efficiency accentuates the extrinsic and instrumental
dimension of educational administration. In this sense, the protagonists of an
efficient administration construction guide their conceptions and actions by
economic logic, instrumental rationality and material productivity, regardless of the
human content and the political nature of educational practice. However, a
comprehensive and multidimensional paradigm of educational management needs
to rescue the value of efficiency as a criterion of administrative performance in
light of the ethical definitions and pedagogical demands of the educational system
of today's society, as will be seen later.

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT

As a heuristic construction of educational management, effective administration is

a conceptual derivation of the psychosociological school of administration and an
analytical induction of the experience of school and university administrators who
adopt the functionalist principles and practices of the behaviorist approach
originally rooted in the movement of human relations. In the history of
administrative thought, management for effectiveness was conceived within the
behaviorism that developed from the Great Recession that devastated the world in
the late 1920s. Its protagonists, such as Mayo, Barnard, Simon and their
interpreters,14 conceive the organization as an organic and natural system, in
which administrative mediation deals with the functional integration of its
constituent elements, in light of the concept of effectiveness. After World War II,
the neoclassical thinkers who, under the leadership of Drucker, Odiorne, and
Humble,15 conceived management by objectives, also adopted effectiveness as
their fundamental administrative criterion. Efficiency (from the Latin efficax,
effective, having the power to produce the desired effect) is the institutional
criterion that reveals the administrative capacity to achieve the proposed goals or
results. In the case of education, administrative effectiveness is essentially
concerned with the achievement of intrinsically educational objectives and is
closely linked to the pedagogical aspects of schools, universities and educational
systems.

It was Barnard who, when exposing his concept of organization as a cooperative

system, distinguished effectiveness from efficiency. For Barnard, effectiveness
refers to the level of administrative performance in achieving institutional
objectives, while efficiency is defined in terms of the degree of satisfaction of
personal motivations.16 In this sense, cooperative efforts are effective whenever
they are reach the goal. For Barnard, effectiveness is the main criterion of
administration, such that the efficiency of individuals is only fueled based on the
effective achievement of institutional objectives. Therefore, for adherents of the
psychosociological school of administration, efficiency is subsumed by
effectiveness.

Some authors differentiate internal effectiveness from external effectiveness based

on the intrinsic or extrinsic nature of the desired objectives. In this essay, the
concept of effectiveness of educational administration is limited to the intrinsic
aspects of the educational system, dealing, consequently, with the scope of the
pedagogical objectives themselves. The concern for strategic actions to achieve the
extrinsic political objectives of the educational system obeys the criterion of
effectiveness, as will be seen below.

The effectiveness of educational management is conceived, therefore, as a

criterion of pedagogical performance, of an intrinsic and instrumental nature,
measured in terms of administrative capacity to achieve the goals and objectives
of educational practice. For educators, who traditionally start from the assumption
that the achievement of the pedagogical objectives of the educational system
supersedes the utilitarian and extrinsic economic aspects, the criterion of
effectiveness exceeds that of efficiency in the administration of education. Along
these lines, the protagonists of an effective administration construct adopt an
essentially pedagogical orientation in their conceptual and analytical efforts and, in
light of this predominant pedagogical orientation, they encourage efficiency to
effectively achieve the specific objectives of educational institutions.

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT

As a heuristic construction of educational management, effective administration is

a conceptual derivation of a set of contemporary theories of administration and an
analytical induction of different practical experiences in public administration and
educational management during the decades after the Second World War. Its main
theoretical contributions originate in administration for development,
administrative ecology, contingency theory, institutional development and other
alternative perspectives.17 The protagonists of these contemporary movements
conceive the organization as an open and adaptive system, in which which
administrative mediation places emphasis on the variables of the external
environment in light of the concept of effectiveness. Effectiveness (from the Latin
verb efficere, to execute, carry out, effect, produce) is the political criterion that
reflects the administrative capacity to satisfy the concrete demands raised by the
external community. The English term for effectiveness, as it emerged in
contemporary management theory, is responsiveness (from the Latin respondere,
to respond, to correspond), reflecting the ability to respond to the demands of
society. In other words, as a criterion of administrative performance, effectiveness
measures the ability to produce answers or solutions to problems politically posed
by participants in the broader community. In certain aspects, the concept of
effectiveness is associated with the concept of social responsibility -accountability--
18 according to which the administration must be accountable and responsible for
its actions based on the needs and priorities of the community.

As a criterion of administrative performance, effectiveness has been particularly

relevant in development administration, a theoretical construct associated with
comparative public administration that flourished after World War II, in the broader
context of political theory. Its fundamental concern is to promote socioeconomic
development and improve human living conditions. It is in this sense that, trying to
overcome the limitations of the technical criteria of efficiency and effectiveness,
effectiveness refers to "broader objectives of equity and economic-social
development."19

Applying the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness to the administration of

education, it is possible to associate effectiveness with the achievement of
pedagogical objectives themselves, while effectiveness measures the level of
achievement of broader social objectives. The traditional emphasis on the technical
criteria of efficiency and effectiveness is associated with the alleged neutrality of
organizational and administrative theory, incompatible with an administration
governed by the criterion of political effectiveness. In reality, the concept of
effectiveness implies a real and true commitment to achieving social objectives and
meeting the political demands of the community. The materialization of said
commitment to the life of the community requires a philosophy of solidarity and a
participatory methodology.20 The greater the degree of solidarity participation of
the members of the community, directly or indirectly committed to educational
management, the greater its effectiveness and greater its political capacity to
respond concretely and immediately to social needs and aspirations. To describe
the degree of political commitment of educational management, some authors
adopt the concept of relevance instead of the criterion of effectiveness.21 In this
work, however, effectiveness is defined from a political perspective and relevance
from a cultural perspective, as will be seen later.

The participatory methodology has the potential to open educational institutions

and adapt them to the characteristics and needs of the community. Although open
organizations may have relatively autonomous elements, it is possible to articulate
them in such a way that they allow effective adaptation to the needs and political
aspirations of the community.22 That is, open and adaptive educational institutions
facilitate democratic management, with the participation effective civil society.23

These conceptual contributions, with the necessary refinements of some

developmental concepts linked to some theoretical currents of contemporary
administration, allow us to define effectiveness as a criterion of political
performance of educational management. As such, the degree of effectiveness of
educational administration is measured in terms of its real and true capacity to
respond to the social demands and political demands of the community. Based on
the substantive importance of the social demands and political demands of the
community, the concept of effectiveness was developed as an alternative to
overcome the instrumental criteria of effectiveness and efficiency. Primarily
concerned with the political-ideological demands and requirements of society, the
protagonists of an effective administration construction adopt an essentially
political orientation and, in light of that dominant political orientation, use the
criteria of effectiveness and efficiency in educational management.

RELEVANT ADMINISTRATION

As a heuristic construct of educational management, relevant administration is a

conceptual derivation of recent and current interactionist formulations in the field
of organizational and administrative theory concerned with the cultural
characteristics and ethical values that define sustainable human development and
quality of life in education and society. Those who advocate such conceptual and
analytical formulations conceive the organization as a global and multicultural
system, in which administrative mediation emphasizes the principles of awareness,
significance, collective human action and totality in light of the concept of
relevance. Relevance (from the Latin verb relevare, to lift, raise, encourage,
highlight, value) is the cultural criterion that measures administrative performance
in terms of importance, significance, relevance and value. Value and relevance are
synonyms that constitute “... the criteria used to select behavioral objectives”24
and to define the nature of human development and quality of life. In this sense,
relevant educational management is evaluated in terms of the meanings and
consequences of its actions for the improvement of human development and
quality of life in school and society. The perception and interpretation of said
meanings and consequences are only possible through an organizational and
administrative theory built on the basis of real experience.

On the other hand, this construction is only possible if it is supported by a

participatory stance of those responsible for educational management. The more
participatory and democratic the administrative process, the greater its
opportunities to be relevant to individuals and groups, and the greater its
possibilities to explain and promote the quality of human life in school and
society.25 It is important to note that relevance refers to the individuals and
groups that participate in the educational system and the community as a whole.
Its central concern is human development and the promotion of quality of life in
education and society through citizen participation.

The concept of quality of human life is culturally specific. That is, the definition of
the nature of the quality of human life of a community results from the perceptions
and interpretations of its participants. It is precisely culture, as a historical and
ecological construction of the community - be it an indigenous community or an
industrialized nation - that must offer the organizational framework for citizen
participation in the definition of relevance and the promotion of quality. of human
life. Relevance suggests the notion of relevance, union, relationship with someone
or something. In the specific case of this essay, "relevance implies a defined,
significant and logical connection"26 between two realities: on the one hand, the
administration, and on the other, the quality of life historically constructed by
citizens according to their own cultural values. It is in this sense that relevance can
be defined as a criterion of cultural performance of educational administration.

The distinction between relevance and effectiveness is not always very evident in
the specialized literature. For example, Wittmann's concept of relevance from
Brazil overlaps considerably with that of effectiveness discussed above. Starting
from the assumption that "the administration of education is an essentially political
act,"27 Wittmann adopts a more political than cultural approach and, as such, is
mainly concerned with the meaning and impact of the performance of educational
management in society. . The concept of relevance defended in this essay gives
primacy to the cultural considerations of the administration of education and the
ideal of quality of life as a guiding criterion for its political action in school and
society. This orientation tends to warn the educational administrator against the
dangers of extrinsic activism, devoid of cultural values and intrinsic considerations
about the human being living in society. However, the cultural dimension is very
present in Wittmann's work, when he refers to the commitment of the education
administration with Brazilian culture and with the "construction of a more just,
more humane and more supportive Brazilian society."28 In reality, while this work
associates the concept of effectiveness with the political dimension of educational
administration and the concept of relevance with the cultural dimension, Wittmann
unifies the concepts of effectiveness and relevance in a single political dimension.

This discussion reveals the close substantive complementarity of the criteria of

relevance and effectiveness in the practice of educational administration, since, in
reality, the anthropological being and the political being are the same person.
Being anthropological is being political when you actively participate in the
construction of your society. That is, the mediation between effectiveness and
relevance implies a political perspective of educational management that is
culturally relevant and ethically significant for the participants of the educational
system and its broader community.

These conceptual elements allow us to define the relevance of educational

administration as a criterion of cultural performance, of a substantive and intrinsic
nature, measured in terms of the significance and relevance of administrative acts
and facts for human development and the quality of life of the participants of the
educational system and society as a whole. Based on the primary importance of
the quality of life and education for citizens in their cultural environment, the
concept of relevance of educational management is developed as an alternative to
overcome the concepts of effectiveness, efficacy and efficiency. Along these lines,
the protagonists of a relevant administration construction adopt an essentially
cultural orientation and guide their action by the relevance and significance of
administrative events for the human development and quality of life of the citizens
who participate in the educational and educational system. society as a whole.

MULTIDIMENSIONAL PARADIGM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Although in the present reading of the history of administrative thought the four
specific constructions of educational administration have their origin in four
different historical moments, currently these constructions coexist and, many
times, overlap in practice. In Latin America, this coexistence, peaceful or
conflictive, is confirmed by the review of specialized literature on the subject. For
example, the literature reveals that in practice there are schools and universities of
a business nature, whose administration is guided by economic efficiency as the
predominant criterion of administrative performance. It is in this sense that Brito,
when referring to university administration, proposes a business solution based on
economic efficiency.29 Other educational institutions and systems are concerned
about their political role in the community, which is why their administration is
predominantly oriented by the criterion of effectiveness.

In this perspective we find, for example, the works of Arroyo and Wittmann, who
conceive the administration of education as a fundamentally political act.30
Likewise, there are educational institutions and systems whose administration is
mainly guided by effectiveness in achieving the objectives. pedagogical objectives
themselves, alongside schools and universities fundamentally concerned with the
human being as an individual and social subject, which adopt relevance as a
criterion for administrative performance. An important academic contribution that
explores the anthropological and pedagogical foundations of educational
administration is found in the phenomenological perspective of Muniz de Rezende
and his associates.31

The diversity of these orientations suggests a complex educational reality that

always demands new organizational and administrative solutions, in the context of
a national and international economic and political order in rapid transformation.
However, the conceptualization of appropriate paradigms to study and exercise the
administration of education in Latin America, in the context of its always new
educational needs and aspirations, constitutes a large intellectual task that has
barely been stated. Methodologically, it is possible to visualize at least three
different solutions that are listed below.

The first solution consists of conceiving the four specific constructions presented in
this essay as four exclusive alternatives used by educational management scholars
and school and university administrators.32 The choice for one of the several paths
is made based on the specific nature of the institution and based on the
perceptions and interpretations of the educational reality and administrative
phenomena by the citizens who participate in the educational system. This solution
is possible in an open society, in which theoretical pluralism stimulates scientific
and technological progress through the development of competitive, confluent or
contrary perspectives, which seek to permanently improve one another.33

However, the four constructions are heuristic elaborations and, therefore, do not
exist in their pure form in real life. In this context, the second solution emerges
according to which researchers and administrators adopt a multiparadigmatic
approach to the study and practice of educational administration. The
multiparadigmatic approach explores the heuristic and praxiological potential of
different paradigms or models to solve specific problems in educational
organization and management. This solution is based on the idea, controversial for
many, that the different paradigms are not exclusive or incommensurable, but can
be used jointly in the theory and practice of education and administration. In
education and the social sciences, the multiparadigmatic efforts recently developed
in the United States of America stand out along the post-structuralist line of
current society. It is precisely in line with the theoretical developments of
postmodern society that Gioia and Pitre34 defend their multiparadigmatic approach
to the study of human organizations.

Likewise, Hassard35 demonstrates how to use contributions from different

conceptual and analytical paradigms in research and management. Building on
Freire's intellectual legacy, the work of Sirotnik and Oakes36 selectively combines
contributions from functionalism, interpretivism and critical theory in their studies
of educational management. Capper37 presents a particularly comprehensive
effort in its multiparadigmatic perspective of educational management for
oppressed and discriminated groups in today's society, combining conceptual
elements of functionalism, interpretivism and critical theory informed by feminist
poststructuralism.
The third solution is a historical-structural construction that takes the form of a
global paradigm, based on the analysis of the confluences and contradictions
between the four constructions of educational management presented in the first
part of this chapter. It is an overcoming perspective, resulting from a new
theoretical synthesis of the practice of educational administration throughout the
pedagogical history of the 20th century. In accordance with this reconstructionist
effort, administration is conceived as a global phenomenon with multiple
orientations or analytical and praxiological dimensions. In this sense, the four
specific constructions are reconstructed in a global paradigm, which I have called a
multidimensional paradigm of educational administration,38 constituted by four
dialectically articulated dimensions: economic dimension, pedagogical dimension,
political dimension and cultural dimension. Each dimension corresponds to its
respective administrative performance criterion: efficiency, effectiveness,
effectiveness and relevance.

The conceptualization of the multidimensional educational administration paradigm

is based on four basic assumptions. First, education and administration are
conceived as global realities that, for analytical purposes, can be constituted by
multiple dimensions dialectically articulated with each other. Second, in the
educational system there are substantive or ideological concerns, of a cultural and
political nature, and instrumental or technical concerns, of a pedagogical and
economic nature. Third, in the educational system there are internal concerns of an
anthropological and pedagogical nature, and external concerns related to the
economy and broader society. Fourth, the human being, as an individual and social
subject historically responsible for the construction of society and its organizations
in a set of historical opportunities, constitutes the reason for the existence of the
educational system. It is this anthroposociopolitical vision that defines the nature
and use of the multidimensional paradigm of educational administration as a
heuristic and praxiological instrument. These concepts, graphically summarized in
Figure 1, are translated into a multicentric scheme in which two substantive and
two instrumental dimensions are dialectically articulated with two intrinsic and two
extrinsic dimensions.

The conception of the multidimensional paradigm of educational administration is

based on a comprehensive and totalizing definition of educational management
according to which the extrinsic dimensions are subsumed by the respective
intrinsic dimensions; and the instrumental dimensions, for the substantive
dimensions. The latter are directly related, at the intrinsic level, to the fundamental
values and aspirations of the human being historically inserted in their cultural
environment and, at the extrinsic level, to the achievement of the political goals
and objectives of society. This epistemological orientation does not coincide with
individualistic and functionalist positions devoid of social commitment in society
and education. From the perspective of the multidimensional paradigm, freedom of
choice and action on the part of the human being implies co-responsibility and
social adhesion in education and society.

FIGURE 1

MULTIDIMENSIONAL PARADIGM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION:

ANALYTICAL DIMENSIONS AND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
Analytical
Dimensions Substantive Dimensions Instrumental Dimensions
 Intrinsic Cultural Dimension Pedagogical Dimension
Dimensions (Relevance Criterion) (Effectiveness Criterion)
Extrinsic Political Dimension Economic Dimension
Dimensions (Effectiveness Criterion) (Efficiency Criterion)
However, in the same way that a behavioral and functionalist system of
educational management based on utilitarianism and functional competitiveness
devoid of substantive interpersonal transactions is not accepted, the
multidimensional paradigm of educational administration is not supported by
inspired political and educational solutions. in statism that inhibits the freedom of
human choice and action and hinders the creation of diversified spaces to enable
the full realization of the human being as an individual and social subject. In the
terms of the multidimensional paradigm, the administration of education is guided
by substantive content and ethical values constructed collectively, such as freedom
and equity, which, in turn, provide the organizational mold for citizen participation
in the promotion of a qualitative form. of human life in school and in society.39

The conception and use of the multidimensional paradigm of educational

administration requires a broad interdisciplinary contribution. In truth, each of the
analytical categories of the multidimensional paradigm is the object of study of
specific disciplines. In any case, the first precaution is not to lose the vision of the
totality of educational phenomena, detaching planes or dimensions from global
reality as if they were capable of autonomous existence. However, the vision of the
totality of educational phenomena is not confused with that of unidimensionality.
On the contrary, the concept of totality is closely associated with that of
multidimensionality, based on the multiplicity of perceptions and interpretations of
educational phenomena, which implies a broad interdisciplinary perspective
capable of explaining them in global terms. Below is an initial characterization of
the nature of the four dimensions of the multidimensional educational
administration paradigm and a summary statement of the disciplinary contributions
to studying each of the dimensions.

ECONOMIC DIMENSION

The economic dimension of the educational system encompasses financial and

material resources, structures, bureaucratic regulations and coordination and
communication mechanisms. In this dimension, the administration programs and
controls resources, structurally organizes the institution, establishes roles and
positions, divides work, determines how it should be carried out and by what type
of incumbents, and establishes rules of action. The defining criterion of the
economic dimension is the efficiency in the use of technological resources and
instruments, under the rule of economic logic. Under this logic, the concepts of
efficiency and rationality preside over organizational and administrative activities in
education, such as budget preparation and execution, planning and allocation of
physical spaces, preparation of schedules based on curricular organization, hiring
of personnel. , and the provision of technological equipment and materials. The
administration will be efficient to the extent that it is capable of optimizing the
collection and use of financial resources and material and technological
instruments in the educational system and in its schools and universities.

The study of the economic dimension is based on economics, business

administration, organization and methods, accounting and technology. All of these
disciplines, fundamentally concerned with efficiency and productivity, suffer the
influence of the rational and utilitarian logic of the business world, which is why
these observations are basically restricted to the economy that commands the
other correlative disciplinary contributions.

There is an extensive bibliography on the economic context in which the

educational system operates and its implications for the study and practice of
educational administration. The economics of education developed rapidly after
World War II, concentrating on the analysis of the "economic value of education"40
and on the study of the economic aspects of educational institutions and systems,
such as their external productivity and effectiveness. institutional. Traditionally,
the economics of education has considered the educational system from an
economic perspective, whose functional logic has sometimes been transformed into
a modeling paradigm of the academic process and human life itself. It was in this
context that the administration of education incorporated many aspects of the
economic orientation of the administration for development current in the public
sector, in which government planning has been particularly emphasized. Although
it is true that economists of the most varied orientations have theorized about
education as consumption, the emphasis attributed to "investment in human
beings"41 since the 1950s, in many cases translates a philosophy that distorts the
integral value of education. education and human life itself. In recent decades,
there has been a redefinition of the economic value of education and a resizing of
educational planning and management, through the incorporation of concerns of a
social and political nature in education.42 This redefinition is accentuated today by
light of the current international economic and technological conditions, which
require new educational perspectives, based on a new relationship between
education, technological change and economic development.43

PEDAGOGICAL DIMENSION

The pedagogical dimension of educational administration refers to the set of

educational principles, techniques and scenarios intrinsically committed to the
effective achievement of the objectives of the educational system and its schools
and universities. Over the years, the pedagogical dimension of educational
management has suffered a process of atrophy in the face of the widespread
emphasis on considering education in terms of economic and technological
development. The predominance of the economic role attributed to education has
conditioned the orientation of educational management which, imbued with
economic logic, often came to be considered as a business act. As a reaction to
this situation, in some academic environments there has been a growing concern
with administration as a pedagogical act, in the expression of Muniz de Rezende.44

Defenders of the pedagogical dimension do not intend to ignore the economic

dimension, nor the relationship between education and technological development.
On the contrary, the concern of its protagonists is to attribute to the administration
the responsibility of coordinating the creation and use of content, spaces, methods
and techniques capable of effectively achieving the goals and objectives of
education in its efforts to fulfill its economic role. political and cultural in society.
The pedagogical dimension of educational administration, in reality, is related to
the entire organization and functioning of the educational system and its schools
and universities. This is the dimension that defines the specificity of educational
management. In light of this specificity, educational management must avoid, in
the expression of Valnir Chagas, "that the instruments absorb the main thing and,
in this way, the act of administering ends up obscuring or eliminating that of
educating."45 The dimension Pedagogy is closely related to all the other
dimensions of educational management, offering the elements and instruments
necessary for the effective achievement of educational objectives. In this sense,
the success of educational management is measured in terms of its effectiveness
in achieving the goals of the educational system and the objectives of its schools
and universities.

The study of the pedagogical dimension of educational administration is based on a

wide range of disciplinary contributions ranging from philosophy to cybernetics.
Philosophy and political science are imposed as central disciplines, since the
educational system, more than a pedagogical plan, must contain a philosophy and
a political strategy based on which it reflects the historical moment and social
reality. Only the alliance between philosophy, political science and pedagogy can
explain, in a coherent way, the educational theory and practice current in society.
On the other hand, pedagogy, as a discipline that defines the specific nature of the
educational process and that materializes cultural values and social meanings in
the educational system, is supported by other disciplines, such as psychology and
anthropology. Finally, in the use of educational technology for research and
learning activities, pedagogy uses computer science, cybernetics and other
technological disciplines.

POLITICAL DIMENSION

The political dimension encompasses the organized action strategies of the

participants in the educational system and their schools and universities. The
importance of the political dimension lies in the specific responsibilities of the
educational system and its schools and universities towards society. Likewise, its
importance lies in the fact that the educational system functions in the context of
the most varied contingency circumstances of the environment. This importance is
accentuated as evidence demonstrates that the anthropological and pedagogical
aspects of educational management are influenced by very powerful external
variables. In this way, if the administration of education is not capable of
adequately directing the powerful relationship of the intrinsic elements of human
and pedagogical nature with the environment, it runs the risk of closing the
educational system in on itself.

The result of this isolationist attitude is the loss of their political space in the
community. In this dimension, the administration of education seeks effectiveness,
an essentially political criterion, according to which the educational system must
meet the social needs and demands of the community to which it belongs. In this
sense, the administration will be all the more effective the greater its strategic
capacity to meet the social needs and political demands of the community in which
the educational system operates.

The foundations for studying and understanding the political dimension of

educational administration are found in political science and political sociology, in
addition to the contributions of administrative law, public administration, and
political and cultural anthropology. The perception and interpretation of the
political scenario of education is of fundamental importance for educational
management. For a long time it was maintained that the administration, because
of its supposedly instrumental nature, was ideologically neutral and, consequently,
detached from politics. However, the classic postulate of the dichotomy between
politics and administration turned out to be inadequate in Latin American public
administration.

In reality, the administration plays an essentially political role. Consequently, the

administrator will look to political science for valuable subsidies to study the
multiple elements that act on the educational system and its schools and
universities.

Political sociology, which has as its central theme the social bases of power in all
sectors of society, is a central discipline for the study and practice of educational
administration. Obviously, if educational management is a political process and if
political sociology concentrates its interests in the social conditions of the political
process, the education administrator will find in political sociology valuable
elements for his professional practice.46

Together with political science and political sociology, public administration

provides a particularly important contribution to educational management, since it
is developed in the political and organizational context of the public sector. In
reality, Latin American education, both in the state and private sectors, is directly
or indirectly linked to public power and, as such, educational management will only
have faithful expression in the context of public administration.

Administrative law, which studies the legal order of the organization and activity of
political society through its own legal institutes that govern the rights and duties of
government institutions and individuals, is closely associated with the
administration of the various sectors of public activity and, as such, offers valuable
elements to professionals who dedicate themselves to the study and practice of
educational administration. In reality, educational legislation and its jurisprudence
are going to seek subsidies in the field of administrative law, both in the doctrinal
aspect - referring to the systematization of laws and legal principles - and in the
purely legal aspect - referring to the existence of laws that regulate the
educational activity of the State and society as a whole.

Many educational management topics transcend the borders of political science,

political sociology, public administration and administrative law, involving culture
and society as a whole. In that sense, cultural analysis assumes double
importance. The administration of education then turns to cultural anthropology
and political anthropology to study the cultural traits and political aspects of
society, respectively, without losing the vision of totality that characterizes general
anthropology studies. This global vision of the human being and his cultural
environment offers a valuable parameter to conceive a comprehensive paradigm of
educational management capable of correctly dealing with the complex web of
social relations that occur within a given society, according to its code of social
norms. and cultural values. These considerations introduce the discussion of the
central importance of the cultural dimension of educational management, as will be
seen below.

CULTURAL DIMENSION

The cultural dimension covers the values and philosophical, anthropological,

biological, psychological and social characteristics of the people who participate in
the educational system and the community in which it functions. Although the
cultural dimension contains many nuances and levels, its basic characteristic is the
vision of totality that allows it to comprehensively encompass the most varied
aspects of human life. In light of this global perspective, it is up to the
administration of education to coordinate the action of people and groups that
participate directly and indirectly in the educational process of the community, with
a view to promoting the quality of collective human life. For this reason, the
administration of education will be relevant and meaningful to the people and
groups that make up the educational system and its broader community to the
extent that it is capable of reflecting their beliefs and values and their philosophical
orientations and social and political characteristics. . From this perspective, cultural
relevance is the basic criterion of an educational administration paradigm
committed to promoting human development and quality of life. Therefore,
administration will be relevant to the extent that it offers the conditions conducive
to promoting the quality of human life in the educational system, in its schools and
universities and in society as a whole.

In addition to anthropology itself, philosophy and philosophical anthropology,

psychology and physical anthropology, sociology and social anthropology offer
theoretical bases for studying and understanding the cultural dimension of
educational administration. Philosophy, as a general science of human principles,
causes and values, and anthropology, as a comprehensive discipline that studies
the nature of the human being with its biological and cultural characteristics in a
broad temporal and spatial perspective, are perennial sources for the
administration of The education.

In the vast field of psychology, it is social psychology that assumes special

importance as a discipline that studies the individual and the social situation
simultaneously, through models that work with both the complexity of the social
stimulus and individual differences. Social psychology work on the capacity and
creativity of human beings living in a community and scientific efforts that seek to
find solutions for personal and social problems existing in the educational system
and in society as a whole are particularly important for the administration of The
education. In reality, educational administration is a process directed by and for
human beings who act and interact within an increasingly complex educational
system. In this context, it is the administration's role to establish institutional
conditions that allow the full realization of the human being as a subject of a
historical process of construction and distribution of knowledge.

Sociology, as a discipline that studies the models of action and interaction of

people, groups and organizations within society, is also closely associated with the
study and practice of educational administration. The study of organizations and
bureaucracy, of the relationship between people and organizations and between
organizations and society, and many other sociological topics has obvious
implications for the administration of education.

MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE CONFLUENCES AND CONTRADICTIONS

After defining the nature of the four dimensions of the multidimensional paradigm
of educational administration, it is important to define the relationships of mutual
and multiple articulation between the different dimensions. The importance of this
definition lies in the fact that the administration of education plays a mediating role
between the confluences and contradictions that characterize educational
phenomena within society.

The nature of the interactions between the different dimensions of the

multidimensional educational administration paradigm can be operationally defined
in terms of the relationships between the respective administrative performance
criteria.

Thinking interactionally, the different dimensions and their respective

administrative criteria are not exclusive. On the contrary, although distinguishable,
they are dialectically articulated dimensions of a comprehensive and surpassing
paradigm of educational management. In the multidimensional paradigm of
educational administration, efficiency is subsumed by effectiveness; effectiveness
and efficiency are subsumed by effectiveness; and effectiveness, efficiency, and
efficiency are subsumed by relevance. This orientation that overcomes the
mediating role of educational management allows us to rescue the correct value of
each of the dimensions of the multidimensional paradigm and their respective
administrative performance criteria, in light of the ethical and pedagogical
demands of today's society.

In this sense, it is important to rescue the correct value of economic efficiency in

administrative decisions related to the effective achievement of pedagogical
objectives. Likewise, it is necessary to redefine the role of efficiency and
effectiveness in educational management concerned with the quality and cultural
relevance of education and with the effective achievement of its political
objectives.

This quick characterization of the multiple articulation relationships between the

different dimensions of the multidimensional educational administration paradigm
reveals that administrative mediation47 cannot be underestimated. In reality,
administration plays an essential mediating role that significantly determines the
very nature of the interactions that occur in the educational system and its schools
and universities.

CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EDUCATION OF

THEEDUCATORS

The multidimensional paradigm of educational administration is an attempt at a

theoretical synthesis of the Latin American experience in the field of educational
management. The historical evolution of knowledge in the field of educational
management portrayed in the four constructions, sometimes complementary and
sometimes opposite, when not overlapping, takes the multidimensional form of a
synthesis paradigm. However, it is worth reiterating again that the separation of
knowledge into dimensions is exclusively due to analytical objectives with strict
subordination to the criterion of totality. The relative emphasis placed on the
different dimensions of the educational administration paradigm is a function of the
philosophical orientation, the nature of the administrative phenomena and the
spatial and historical situation in which they occur.

Starting from the premise that this multidimensional paradigm is only an initial
enunciation, the need to permanently deconstruct and reconstruct it is imposed, in
light of the thesis of the specificity of educational administration as a professional
field of study. However, it is important not to forget that the construction and
reconstruction of theories and paradigms of education and social sciences is the
work of human beings, acting and interacting in and on a set of historical
circumstances and opportunities. The conceptual and analytical perspectives of
educational management cannot surpass those of the educators in charge of
constructing and using them in the context of the aforementioned set of historical
opportunities. This statement suggests a priority educational effort for educators
called to study and administer education in Latin America.

In the terms of the multidimensional paradigm of educational administration, the

selection and preparation of educational administrators must take into account four
types of competence: economic, pedagogical, political and cultural. The economic
competence of the education administrator defines his efficiency to optimize the
collection and use of economic and financial resources and of technical and
material elements to achieve the objectives of the educational system and its
schools and universities. The pedagogical competence of the educational
administrator reflects his effectiveness in formulating educational objectives and in
designing pedagogical scenarios and means for their achievement. Political
competence defines the talent of the educational administrator to perceive and
interpret the external environment and its influence on educational institutions and
reveals the effectiveness to adopt strategies of organized action to satisfy the
social and political needs and demands of the community and of its educational
system.

Finally, the cultural competence of the education administrator reveals his or her
ability to conceive solutions and in leadership to implement them from the
perspective of relevance for the promotion of a qualitative form of human life that
enables the full fulfillment of the participants in the educational system and of
society as a whole.

The preparation of researchers and administrators based on this set of basic

competencies is presented as a need and a challenge for the educational systems
of Latin America. A challenge, since it is an immense academic task, taking into
account the importance and complexity of the topic. A necessity, since education
administrators have a central task in the organization and management of
educational institutions and systems in Latin America.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. This essay is the result of my recent reconstructionist efforts in the field of educational administration, incorporating reviews of
works previously published in: BennoSander, Administração da educação no Brasil: evolução do conhecimento, Fortaleza,
EdiçõesUniversidade Federal do Ceará/ANPAE , 1982; b. Sander, "Administração da educação no Brasil: é hora da relevância,"
Educação Brasileira, Brasilia, DF, Year IV, no. 9, 2nd semester, 1982; b. Sander, "Educational Administration: The Concept of
Cultural Relevance," Education, Washington, DC, Year XXVIII, No. 96, December 1984, pp. 49-69; b. Sander, "Education
administration in Latin America: the concept of cultural relevance," Revista Argentina de Educación, Buenos Aires, Year VIII, no.
14, November, 1990, pp. 25-49. In 1985 I prepared an English version of this essay co-authored with Thomas Wiggins that was
published by the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) of the United States. VerBenno Sander and Thomas
Wiggins, "Cultural context of administrative theory: in consideration of a multidimensional paradigm," Educational Administration
Quarterly, Vol. 21, no. 1, Winter 1985, pp. 95-117. I share the credit and eventual merits of said English version with Thomas
Wiggins and the UCEA.2. See Frederick W. Taylor, Principles of scientific management, New York, Harper and Row Publishers,
1911; Henri Fayol, Administration industrielle et générale, Paris, Dunod, 1916.3. See Elton Mayo, The human problems of an
industrial civilization, New York: McMillan Book Company, 1933; Fritz J. Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson, Management and
the worker, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1939; Chester I. Barnard, The functions of the executive, Cambridge, Harvard
University Press, 1938; Herbert A. Simon, Administrative behavior, New York, McMillan Book Company, 19454. The contemporary
school of management has many movements and is based on a vast bibliography. See, for example, Ferrel Heady and Sybil
Stokes, Comparative public administration: an annotated bibliography, Ann Arbor, Michigan, The University of Michigan, Institute of
Public Administration, 1960; Ferrel Heady, Public administration: a comparative perspective, New York, Marcel Dekker, 1979; Fred
W. Riggs, Administraçãonospaísesemdesenvolvimento: teoria da Sociedadeprismática, Rio de Janeiro, FundaçãoGetúlio Vargas,
1968; Milton J. Esman and Hans C. Blaise, Institution building research: the guiding concepts, Pittsburgh, The University of
Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, 1966; Paul R. Lawrence and Jay W. Lorsch, As companies and the
environment: differentiation and administrative integration, Petrópolis, Vozes, 1973; Peter F. Drucker, Management, New York,
Harpers College, 1977.5. Important contributions for the elaboration of the anthropological construction of management are found,
for example, in Michel Crozier and Erhard Friedberg, L'acteur et le système: les contraintes de l'action collective, Paris, Ed. du
Seuil, 1977; Allain Touraine, Sociologie de l'action, Paris, Ed. du Seuil, 1965; Jack A. Culbertson, "Three epistemologies and the
study of educational administration," UCEA Review, Vol. XXII, no. 1, 1981, pp. 1-6; Gibson Burrell and Gareth Morgan,
Sociological paradigms and organizational analysis, London: Heineman, 1980; Richard J. Bates, "Toward a critical practice of
educational administration," Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York,
Mimeo, 1982; Alberto Guerreiro Ramos, A new science of organizations, Rio de Janeiro, FundaçãoGetúlio Vargas, 1981. See, for
example, the Brazilian translation of Chester I's book. Barnard, As funções do executivo, San Pablo, Atlas, 1971.7. Frederick W.
Taylor, Principles of scientific management, New York, Harper and Row Publishers, 1911; Harrington Emerson, "The twelve
principles of efficiency," Engineering Magazine, New York, 1913; Raymond E. Callahan, Education and the cult of efficiency,
Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1962.8. Chester I. Barnard, The functions of the executive, Cambridge, Harvard
University Press, 1938; Herbert A. Simon, Administrative behavior, New York: McMillan Book, 1945; Jacob A. Getzels, James L.
Lipham and Roald F. Campbell, Educational administration as a social process, New York, Harper and Row Publishers, 1968.9.
American Heritage Dictionary, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1975, p. 416.10. See Frederick W. Taylor, Principles of scientific
management, New York, Harper and Row Publishers, 1911; Henri Fayol, Administration industrielle el générale, Paris, Dunod,
1916; Max Weber, The theory of social and economic organization, New York, The Free Press, 1964.11. Harrington Emerson,
"The twelve principles of efficiency," Engineering Magazine, New York, 1911.12. Harrington Emerson, "Efficiency as a basis for
operations and wages," Engineering Magazine, New York, 1911, p. 37.13. Hugo Münsterberg, Psychology and industrial
engineering, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1913.14. Elton Mayo, The human problems of an industrial civilization, New York, McMillan
Book Company, 1933; Fritz J. Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson, Management and the worker, Cambridge, Harvard University
Press, 1939; Chester I. Barnard, The functions of the executive, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1938; Herbert A. Simon,
Administrative behavior, New York, McMillan Book Company, 1945.15. Peter F. Drucker, Practice of management, New York,
Harper and Row Publishers, 1954; George S. Odiorne, Management by objectives, New York, Pitman Publishers, 1965; and J. W.
Humble, Management by objectives, London, Industrial Education and Research Foundation, 1967.16. Chester I. Barnard, The
functions of the executive, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1938, p. 44.17. See Ferrel Heady and Sybil Stokes, Comparative
public administration: an annotated bibliography, Ann Arbor, Michigan, The University of Michigan Institute of Public Administration,
1960; Ferrel Heady, Public administration: a comparative perspective, New York, Marcel Dekker, 1979; Fred W. Riggs,
Administraçãonospaísesemdesenvolvimento: teoria da Sociedadeprismática, Rio de Janeiro, FundaçãoGetúlio Vargas, 1968;
Milton J. Esman and Hans C. Blaise, Institution building research: the guiding concepts, Pittsburgh, The University of Pittsburgh,
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, 1966; Paul R. Lawrence and Jay W. Lorsch, As companies and the
environment: differentiation and administrative integration, Petrópolis, Vozes, 1973.18. The concept of accountability is an
extension of the scientific administration of the classical school that can be translated in terms of administrative responsibility and
reliability, trying to link the classic principles of efficiency and precision in the use of resources with measurable substantive results.
See Browder Jr., Lesley Jr., ed., Emerging patterns of accountability, Berkeley, California, McCutchan Publishing Corporation,
1971.19. Paulo Roberto Motta, "Administração para o desenvolvimento: a discipline em search de relevância," Revista de
Administração Pública, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. VI, no. 3, July/September, 1972, p. 42.20. For a discussion of the concept of solidarity
in education, see Juracy C. Marques, "Administraçãosolidária: propostaoudesafio," Revista Brasileira de Administração da
Educação, Porto Alegre, Vol. I, no. 1, January/June, 1983, pp. 79-88.21. See, for example, Lauro Carlos Wittmann,
"Habilitaçãoemadministração da educação: presupostos e perspectives," Informativo ANPAE, nº 3, July/September, 1981, pp. 7-
9.22. R. AND. Weick, “Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems,” Administrative Science Quarterly, no. 21, 1976, pp.
1-19.23. See the contribution of K. AND. Weick, “Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems,” and J. Pfeffer and G. R.
Salancik, The external control of organizations, New York, Harper and Row Publishers, 1978.24. W. R. Scott, Organizations,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1981, p. 14.25. An initial discussion of the concept of relevance in public administration is
found in Paulo Reis Vieira and Anna Maria Campos, "Em search for umametodologia de pesquisa relevant para a administração
Pública," Rio de Janeiro, Revista de Administração Pública, Vol. XVI, no. 3, July/September, 1980, pp. 101110.26. Webster's
Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, G & G, Merrian Publisher, 1965, p. 723.27. Lauro Carlos Wittmann, Op. cit., 1981,
pp. 7-9.28. Lauro Carlos Wittmann, Op. cit., 1981, pp. 7-9.29. Jorge Honório M. Brito, "Administraçãouniversitária: alternative
business ouacadêmica," Informativo ANPAE, nº 3, 1980, pp. 5-8.30. Miguel González Arroyo, "Administração da educação, poder
e participação," Educação e Sociedade, no. 2, January 1979, pp. 34-36; Lauro Carlos Wittmann, "Habilitaçãoemadministração da
educação: presupostos e perspectives," Informativo ANPAE, nº 3, July/September, 1981, pp. 7-9.31. Antonio Muniz de Rezende,
José Camilo dos Santos Filho and Maria Lúcia Rocha Duarte Carvalho, "Administraçãouniversitária como ato pedagógico,"
Educação Brasileira, Brasilia, DF, Vol. I, no. 12, 1978, pp. 15-58; TO. M. Rezende, "Manage and educate or de-educate?"
Educação e Sociedade, São Paulo, Vol I, no. 2, 1979, pp. 25-35; TO. M. Rezende, "Administraçãouniversitária: alternative
business ouacadêmica," Informativo ANPAE, nº 1, 1980, pp. 68.32. An influential school of theorists does not admit the possibility
of combining different sociological paradigms to study social and educational situations, based on the argument that each
paradigm is based on different epistemologies and methodologies and pursues different objectives. See, for example, G. Burrell
and G. Morgan, Sociological paradigms and organizational analysis, London, Heinemann, 1982; W. Q. Foster, Paradigms and
promises: new approaches to educational administration, Buffalo, New York, Prometheus Books, 1986; N. Jackson and P. Carter,
"In defense of paradigm incommensurability," Organization Studies, Vol. 12, no. 1, 1991, pp. 109127.33. This perspective is based
on Kuhn and Popper's concepts about the elaboration of scientific knowledge. See T. S. Kuhn, The structure of scientific
revolutions, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1980; K. R. Popper, Conjectures and refutations, New York, Basic Books,
1962.34. d. TO. Gioia and E. Pitre, "Multiparadigm perspectives on theory building," Academy of Management Review, Vol. 15, no.
4, 1990, pp. 584-602.35. J. Hassard, "Multiple paradigms and organizational analysis: a case study," Organization Studies, Vol. 12,
no. 2, 1991, pp. 275-299.36. K. Sirotnik and J. Oakes, eds., Critical perspectives on the organization and improvement of
schooling, Boston, Kluwer-Nijhoff, 1986. 37. Colleen A. Capper, ed., Educational administration in a pluralistic society, Albany, New
York, The State University of New York Press, 1993, chap. 1 and 10. 38. I conceived the multidimensional paradigm of educational
administration at the beginning of the 1980s, publishing it for the first time in 1982, in BennoSander, "Administração da educação
no Brasil: é hora da relevância," Educação Brasileira, Brasilia, CRUB, Year IV, no. 9, 2nd semester, 1982. Different versions of the
paradigm were later published in different languages and different countries.39. This work collects valuable contributions found in
modern social science, especially in the production of Alberto Guerreiro Ramos, published in A nova ciência das organizations:
umareconceituação da rica das nações, Río de Janeiro, FundaçãoGetúlio Vargas, 1981. In this work, Guerreiro Ramos makes a
critical analysis of the social science and organizational theory of the 20th century focused on the "market logic," contrasting it with
the conceptual framework of a new science of organizations that he operationalizes in his "paraeconomic paradigm." " In reality,
the "paraeconomic paradigm" is a new multicenter model of analysis and planning of social systems. The work of Guerreiro Ramos
allows valuable conceptual derivations for the delimitation of the educational system and the study of its administration.40.
Theodore W. Schultz, The economic value of education, New York, Columbia University Press, 1964.41. "Investment in human
beings," Supplement to the Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 70, No. 5, Part II, October 1962.42. See, for example, Fernando
Henrique Cardoso, A construction of democracy: studies on improdutiva, San Pablo, Cortez Editora, 1984; Enrique Rattner,
Planejamento e bem-estar social, San Pablo, Perspectiva, 1979, chap. 3 and 4, pp. 125-164; Divonzir Arthur Gusso, "Educational
planning: basic aspects of the umatransição of methods and concepts," in Subsídiosaoplanejamento participativo, Brasilia, DF,
Ministério da Educação, 1980, pp. 101-117 (SériePlanejamento, no. 3); Jacques R. Velloso, Educational planning and decision-
making models in Brazil, Reports C 77, Paris, UNESCO, 1978; Anna Maria Campos, "A new planning model for a new
development strategy," Revista de Administração Pública, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 14, no. 3, July/September, 1980, pp. 27-45; Carlos
Pallán Figueroa, "The administration and planning of higher education in the face of the requirement of social development,"
Planning of higher education, Mexico, ANUIES/SEP, 1981; AcáciaKuenzer, M. Julieta Calazans and Walter Garcia, Planejamento
e educação no Brasil, San Pablo, Cortez Editora, 1990; Juan Casassus, “Professionalization: political effectiveness or technical
efficiency,” Paper presented at the National Conference on Education for All, Brasilia, DF, July 19, 1994.43. For a comprehensive
literature review of recent theoretical and empirical work on the current relationships between education, development, and
technological change, see Thomas Bailey and Theo Eicher, “Education, technological change and economic growth,” in Jeffrey M.
Puryear and José Joaquín Brunner, eds., Education, equity and economic competitiveness in theAmericas, Washington, DC, OAS,
ITERAMER 37, Education Series, 1994, pp. 103-120.44. See Antonio Muniz de Rezende, José Camilo dos Santos Filho and Maria
Lucia Rocha Duarte Carvalho, "Administração da educação como ato pedagógico," Educação Brasileira, Brasilia, Vol. I, no. 2,
1970, pp. 15-58.45. Valnir Chagas, Brazilian Education: 1st grade teacher. and 2nd. graus, San Pablo, EdiçõesSaraiva, 1978, p.
303.46. For a discussion of the nature of political sociology as a discipline that studies the relationships between social power and
political authority and its implications for educational practice, see Carlos Alberto Torres, Sociologia politica da educação, San
Pablo, Cortez Editora, 1993, pp. 4153.47. For a discussion of the concept of mediation as a concrete category in education, see
GuiomarNamo de Mello, Magistério de 1o. grau: gives technical competence to political commitment, San Pablo, Cortez
Editora/Authors Associados, 1982, pp. 22-34; Carlos Roberto Jamil Cury, Educação e contradição: methodological elements for a
critical theory of educational phenomena, San Pablo, Cortez Editora,
1985; BennoSander, Education, administration and quality of life, Buenos Aires, Santillana, 1990, pp. 143-145.

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