BOTH ENDS OF A TELESCOPE - EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE IN PRINCIPAL PROBLEM-SOLVING

This article develops a conceptual framework for the application of sc hema theory to the appraisal of expertise in school administration and reports the results of a study conducted to investigate relevant vari ables. More complex schemata of the kind considered likely to be assoc iated with expertise were viewed as being associated with both greater attention to detail and a more abstract approach to problem solving. The relationship of these characteristics to judged expertise in trans cribed think-aloud responses to a case problem was investigated with r eference to the effects of professional experience. Results showed tha t attention to detail and level of abstraction were both positively re lated to judged expertise. Professional experience in schools-but not necessarily in the principalship-was also positively related to judged expertise and the other variables, with some interesting exceptions.