ABSTRACT
This chapter examines developments in the field commonly known as the politics of education. As a focus of scholarly inquiry, the politics of education is a late arrival to the field of educational administration. Every school administrator develops an operational definition of the politics of education, and many scholars find it necessary to establish working definitions of the politics of education as a field of study. In spite of many attempts to 'carve out' or delimit its domain, the politics of education as an identifiable field of study remains diffuse. If politics of education researchers are able to generate more theoretical constructs and to apply existing theories more creatively to their field, the omens are good for the continuing vitality of the politics of education as a focus of study. The chapter concludes with some possible implications of recent politics of education research for administrative practice, for training school administrators, for policy makers, and for future research efforts.
