Knowledge generation in educational administration from the inside out: The promise and perils of site-based, administrator research

This article is part of an American Educational Resource Association Divisi on A task force focus on how to improve the research base and knowledge pro duction in educational administration. It represents an exploratory study o f the potential for educational administrators to generate knowledge out of their own practice settings. The database consists of published articles, dissertation abstracts, and interviews with administrator researchers. The study describes the various topics they studied, the methods they used, and the practical, epistemological, and political dilemmas they encountered Un like the traditional notion of a knowledge base that is created by formal r esearchers and then disseminated to practice settings, the authors argue th at inside, research is both created and used in the su,ne setting and there fore represents a powerful lever for personal, professional, and organizati onal transformation. A discussion is provided on the use of both outsider a nd insider research and how together they can contribute to a rethinking of the notion of a knowledge base in educational administration.