FROM MANAGERIALISM TO COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE: CONTROL AND CONSENSUS IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Traditional approaches to educational administration have generally reflected a managerial perspective which owed much to the principles of scientific management developed by F. W. Taylor. Technical concerns which have dwelt on “efficiency” and administration control have, however, ignored and masked the inequalities and ideologies around which organizations are structured. It is argued that critical theory may offer a means of exposing the forms of domination which repress human beings. For the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas critique is a powerful device to unmask unnecessary forms of domination which have been perpetuated by distorted communication. In contrast undistorted or ideal communication entails a pervasive democratic interaction which acknowledges that all participants have the capacity to take part in the making of meaningful decisions.