Educational Administration Secrecy and Tradecraft

During the last couple of decades, there has been an expansion in a number of related and overlapping fields producing evidence of covert activities: toxic cultures, toxic and destructive leadership styles, micropolitics, ethical problems in organisations and administration, problems of abusive power and authority, and many other topics of dysfunctional management and leadership studies that frequently make reference to secretive and deceptive behaviour.

This book presents a theory of covert administration that can be used to: provide an analysis and interpretation of secretive and deceptive activity; inform decision-making both theoretically and practically; provide a means of diagnosing errant management using secretive and deceptive practices; and provide a general set of guidelines for determining when clandestine activities may be legitimate and moral.

In this book Eugenie Samier draws on a range of disciplines including education, psychology, administration and management studies and organizational theory to provide a comprehensive study of the ways in which organisational leaders and administrators carry out their roles in a secretive or deceptive manner. The book also includes an historical chapter that demonstrates a long and close relationship between universities and the intelligence world – ways in which clandestine agendas have affected and influenced the development of some disciplines like anthropology and area studies, as well as associated clandestine university administration.

Alongside a detailed presentation of the theory of covert administration, Samier explores covert administration in practice, factors leading to it, and the results of attempts to combat its many forms. The book will be key reading for researchers and postgraduates with an interest in the field as well as administrators and policy makers.