Examining the Educational Leadership Knowledge Base - A 5-Year Citation Analysis

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag

The study examines how educational leadership knowledge is formed and reinforced through scholarly citation patterns in educational administration research. Authors analyze a leading online journal to identify which articles and authors are highly cited, infer how cited ideas enter graduate coursework, and evaluate impact using retrieval and access metrics from an electronic tracking system. The research focuses on discernable trends over a five-year period.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background Literature

Professional debates on the knowledge base

National Council of Professors of Educational Administration

Role and membership overview

Examining the Educational Leadership Knowledge Base: A 5-Year Citation Analysis Arthur Borgemenke Casey Graham Brown Texas A&M University-Commerce The professionals who research and publish in the field of educational administration impact the theory and best practice cycle that develops into the discipline’s body of knowledge. This body of knowledge, in turn, is imparted to aspiring educational leaders. The authors examined whose research educational administration researchers are citing, and thus, by assumption, whose research and ideas are being incorporated into graduatelevel coursework. The citations in a leading online research journal in the field were examined to seek what discernable patterns and trends existed in citations. In an examination of measures of impact, the authors studied data from an electronic tracking system that indicate the number of times a Portable Document Format is retrieved from the journal’s website and analytical data that indicate the frequency of electronic article/module retrieval. INTRODUCTION The study of educational leadership involves an examination of how school administrators impact educational outcomes (Robinson, Hohepa, & Lloyd, 2009) . Those professionals who study, instruct, research, and publish in the field of educational administration impact the postulate/theory/best practices cycle that evolves into the disciplines scholarly body of knowledge. The body of knowledge developed through that research and reflection in turn affects those seeking to be educational leaders through their participation in university-based educational administrator preparation programs. If the work that scholars contribute to in the field of educational administration informs and evolves the disciplines body of knowledge, then we may deduce that those cited in scholarly venues have an impact on education. This research project began with the simple question, “Which articles and authors are highly cited in the field of educational administration?” This brought about the above discussion of assumptions one could make from that citation analysis regarding whose ideas and research comprise the framework of the field. Pilkington (2009) argued,“with adequate screening and a sufficiently large sample, NCPEA Education Leadership Review, Vol. 14, No. 1– March 2013 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2013 National Council of Professors of Educational Administration Copyright by AACE. Reprinted from the Global Learn North America and Europe 2012 Conference Proceedings, November 6-8, 2012 with permission of AACE citation analysis can provide useful insight into which journals, papers, and authors are considered influential”(para. 1) . From “Which articles and authors are highly cited in the field of educational administration?” our question evolved into an examination of who educational administration researchers, are citing, and thus, by assumption, reading, and incorporating into their graduate coursework. The references cited in a leading research journal in the field were examined to determine if discernable patterns or trends in citations existed. Data pertaining to additional measures of impact were also examined, including those data from a tracking system that indicates the number of times a Portable Document Format (PDF) is retrieved and how often the journal’s publication site is accessed. Background Literature The American Association of School Administrators (1993) wrote “Traditional university and state certification programs have been the target of criticism because of their perceived lack of focus on the future roles, knowledge, and skill base necessary for superintendents”(para. 16) . Such statements emphasize traditional disputes over the educational administration knowledge base. Donmoyer, Imber, and Scheurich (1995) posited that a knowledge base “can ground and legitimate professional work”(p. 2) . Specifically, referring to the field of educational administration, Scheurich (1995) des

FAQs

What research question drives the study?

The study asks which articles and authors are highly cited in the field of educational administration and, by extension, influence graduate-level coursework.

How is impact measured beyond citation counts?

Impact is evaluated using electronic tracking data showing how often PDFs are retrieved from the journal website and how frequently the journal’s publication site is accessed.

Why does the study connect educational leadership to a knowledge base?

It argues that scholars’ contributions shape an evolving knowledge base that then informs how aspiring educational leaders learn through university preparation programs.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag