Abstract
Purpose – Research, spanning half a century, points to the critical role of school administration and to
the successful implementation of US government policies and programs. In part these findings reflect
the times and a US educational governance system characterized by local control, a constitutionallyconstrained
federal government, resource-poor state governments, and an overall system of segment
arrangements for governing education. However, the US education policy environment has changed
dramatically over the past several decades, with standards and high stakes accountability becoming
commonplace. The purpose of this paper is to examine the entailments of shifts in the policy
environment for school administrative practice, focusing on how school leaders manage in the middle
between this shifting external policy environment and classroom teachers.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper’s focus is on how school administration manages the
dual organizational imperatives of legitimacy and integrity in a changing institutional environment.
This paper is an essay in which the authors reflect on the entailments of shifts in the education sector
for school administration over the past quarter century in the USA.
Findings – While considerable change for school administrative practice is suggested, the authors
argue that organizational legitimacy and organizational integrity are still central concerns for school
leaders.