The writings of Stephen R. Covey and his best-selling work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, are beginning to be included in a broad range of texts marketed to educational leaders, including textbooks for the formal preparation of school administrators at the university level. Despite its unprecedented popularity, Covey's work is not research based nor is it scientific. Its epistemological claims are grounded in Christian prophecy and revelation. Covey's work neglects to meet even the most minimal standards of academic scholarship and should not be the content of any curriculum that professes to be based on empirically verified science. As long as educational practitioners and professors of educational administration remain unaware of the deeply metaphysical nature of Covey's works, they will continue to mistake or substitute revelation and prophecy for science. In so doing they run the risk of forfeiting claims about the “scientific preparation” of educational administrators, which has long been the hallmark of professional schools.
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