Factors Affecting the Identification of Research Problems in Educational Administration Studies.

In recent years, social, economic, political and technical fields worldwide have experienced significant changes and transformations. Educational activities are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and this process involves both direct and indirect interactions. Both the increased time spent on the training-education process and the increased funds allocated to education by organizations such as UNESCO, the World Bank, UNICEF, and the European Union increase the importance of educational sciences-particularly the importance of the field of educational administration-on a daily basis.For educational administration, which passed through several stages before reaching the scientific position that it occupies today, the process of becoming a science paralleled developments in social sciences. During this process, studies performed in the educational administration field have evolved from a positivist perspective to critical, interpretive and postmodern perspectives (Oplatka, 2007, 2009; Spring, 1994). The theoretical base of educational administration was built in the 1950s using the principles and theory of management sciences in the United States. The current that accelerated the field of educational administration in its early years was the theory movement, which preceded the positivist paradigm. The theory movement insisted both that potentially effective approaches in the field of educational administration could be built on scientific knowledge (Willower & Forsyth, 1999) and that studies performed in the field of educational administration should be assessed according to their contribution to implementation. After the 1970s, the direction of the field of educational administration began to change. At that time, interpretive, critical, cognitive, symbolic and cultural theories described as beyond positivism, all of which objected to the theory movement's mechanical style, its claim and its ideal of being an objective science beyond social reality, became more popular (Willower & Forsyth, 1999). During this period, it was widely accepted that educational administration studies should focus on the topics that are assumed to have a serious impact on understanding human behavior, such as language, culture, and social context (Bush, 1999; Greenfield, 1994; Hoy, 1996; Ogawa, Goldring, & Conley, 2000). Recently, studies conducted in the field of educational administration have primarily tested existing theories instead of initiating deep theoretical and methodological discussions. Although the field encompasses various theoretical assents and applications, scientific knowledge produced within the positivist paradigm (including effectiveness, school improvement and development, accountability, leadership, job satisfaction, and loyalty) is dominant and remains popular. The overall historical background of the field shows the dominance of the positivist, traditional approach (Simsek, 1997; Turan & Sisman, 2013). In Turkey, the field of educational administration avoids originality by following and repeating Western studies and discussions; it is built on the "theory movement" and the concepts and theories that are its extensions (Turan & Sisman, 2013). Positivist and post-positivist theories still survive in the field; meanwhile, the tradition of positivist research and knowledge production is the primary approach that is used in the field of educational administration (Aydin, Erdag, & Sarier, 2010). Educational Administration Studies and Knowledge ProductionIn modern societies, the areas in which knowledge is produced have their own problems, solutions, rules, activities and meanings, all of which are unique to them. Developing solutions to problems addressed at the scientific level, interpreting problems and solutions, testing existing theories and configuring new theories are realized through scientific studies. Educational administration owes its scientific development as a theory and application area to the studies performed in this field. …