ABSTRACT
Over the past decade or so there have been calls for increasing attention to the study of educational administration across contexts and national settings (e.g., Chapman, Sackney, & Aspin, 1999; Dimmock & Walker, 1998; Greenfield, 1995; Hallinger, 1992, 1995; Hallinger & Leithwood, 1996; Hallinger & Murphy, 1986, Hughes, 1988; Paige & Mestenhauser, 1999; Teddlie & Reynolds, 2000). Researchers’ interest in studying educational administration comparatively is because of the realization internationally that schooling practices are diverse and, with tremendous progress in world communication, there are increased possibilities for collaboration with colleagues holding similar interests in varied global settings. The cross-fertilization of approaches toward educational policy and practice across nations has produced increased awareness of other systems, exchange of ideas, international assessments of progress, and research aimed at understanding important global educational problems such as educational effectiveness, decentralization, school restructuring, and accountability (Baker Akiba, LeTendre, & Wiseman, 2001; Chapman et al., 1999; Dimmock & Walker, 1998; Hallinger & Leithwood, 1996; Schmidt & Prawat, 1999).
