The Administrator-Observer as Policy Maker

Abstract

Administrators daily face the problem of attempting to mesh the role of decision maker with the role of processor. Often the infor mation is insufficient, unavailable, or over-looked. Therefore, the dangerous tendency of administrators is to rely too heavily on one's experience, (i.e., the "Old Sage Approach"), or to attempt to synthesize information in a scattered and selective fashion. The anthropological approach of participant-observation, with its subse quent methods, offers a reasonable middle ground for administrators to more effectively organize activities that revolve around decision making. Margaret A. Ramsey is currently serving as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Educational Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is also an adjunct professor of educational ad ministration at the Pennsylvania State University.