This article responds to a recent article by Burbules (1989) in which he argued that the relevance of philosophy is subjectively determinable by educational practitioners. The purpose of this article is to identify crucial inadequacies in Burbules's account and to sketch an alternative view of the relevance of philosophy which goes some way to overcoming these difficulties. It argues that the role of philosophy lies in its contribution to the professional development of administrators and briefly sketches some specific details of the contribution of philosophy to professional development in educational administration.
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