"Facilitative" Power in Special Education and Clinical Supervision.

The concept of power, fundamental to understanding human interactions and institutions, remains puzzling, elusive, theoretically complex, and largely unexamined by practitioners. A school restructuring agenda that purportedly changes power relationships in schools is being proposed and tested throughout the country. Basic questions are being asked about top-down power, and terms such as "power sharing," "empowerment," and "site-based management" embody hopes and expectations for improving school performance. These discussions rarely consider the underlying assumptions affecting power relationships among the practitioner/actors involved in decision-making. Attempting to reconsider the dominant sociological theories explaining power in schools, this paper argues that facilitative power, an alternative to traditional (authoritarian) interpretations of power in organizations, more accurately describes how power is exercised in school settings. Facilitative, interactive power has become increasingly common in settings where no single individual or role commands decision-making control without dependence on expert knowledge and cooperation among colleagues. Facilitative power enlarges decision-making and encourages nonstandardizea approaches to problem-solving. Specific examples include the individualized educational program process in special education and current clinical supervision practices. These demonstrate the limitations of traditional power concepts and the usefulness of facilitation for capturing the essential nature of interactions among principals and both professional and nonprofessional staff. (57 references) (MLH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U. & DEPARTMENT or EDUCATOR Office Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) /111s document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality Points of view or opinions video in tnisclocument do not necessarily represent official OERI position or pohcy "TACILITATIVZ" POWER IN SPECIAL EDUCATION AND CLINICAL SUPERVISION Diane Dunlap & Paul Goldman Department of Educational Policy and Management University of Oregon Eugene OR 97405-1215 (503) 346-5077 Abstract "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BYPERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE ECXCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). " In this article, the authors argue that understanding facilitative aspects of organizational power has become necessary for analyzing processes and outcomes in today's schools. Facilitative, interactive power has become increasingly common in settings where no single individual or role commands decision-making control without dependence on expert knowledge and cooperation of colleagues. Specific examples of such situations include the Individualized Educational Program. (IEP) process in special education aand current practices in clinical supervision. These demonstrate the limitations of traditional concepts of power and the usefulness of facilitation for capturing the essential nature of professional interactions between principals, staff, and non-professionals in schools. "TACILITATIVW POW= IN SPIECIAL ZDUCAT/ON AND CLINICAL SUPFAVISION