Dr Trevor Maddock works at the
Department of Education at the
University of Adelaide. In this paper
he considers the debate between the
critical theorists as represented by
Richard Bates and materialist
pragmatists as presented by Gabriele
Lakomski as a contemporary
manifestation of one dimension of the
ongoing dispute over the appropriate
depiction of the character of
administration in education. In this
context, the discussion focuses in
particular upon the merits of some of
the central ideas of Habermasian
critical theory as potential linchpins
for an understanding of the study
and practice of educational
administration.
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