Abstract for CASEA/CCEAM, Fredericton June 6-10, 2014
Due date, October 1, 2013
Theme of Conference
“(Re) Situating Commonwealth:
Educational Leadership at a Time of Demographic Change”
Eugenie A. Samier
Associate Professor
The British University in Dubai
Dubai International Academic City
Block 11, Floor 1
PO Box 345015
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Eugenie.samier@gmail.com
Peter Milley, PhD
Professeure Adjoint / Assistant Professor
Faculté d'éducation / Faculty of Education
Université d’Ottawa | University of Ottawa
pmilley@uottawa.ca
Tél. | Tel.: 613-562-5800 (1458)
Téléc | Fax: 613-562-5146
145 Jean-Jacques-Lussier (487)
Ottawa ON Canada K1N 6N5
www.uOttawa.ca
Dr. Carol Harris
Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria
Adjunct Professor, Acadia University
3 Prince Street
Wolfville, B4P 1P7
harrisce@uvic.ca
Abeer Al Rasbi
EdD Student
The British University in Dubai
Dubai International Academic City
Block 11, Floor 1
PO Box 345015
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
abeer.alrasbi@gmail.com
Title of Symposium (E. A. Samier, P. Milley & C. Harris):
Educational Leadership and the Securitization of
Education: The Challenges of Individual, Organizational and System Threats to
Security
Eugenie A. Samier (The British University in Dubai, UAE)
Introduction: Towards a Taxonomy of Securitized Education for Educational Leadership
This symposium of papers explores various dimensions and levels of security issues in
contemporary and globalized education, ranging from individual and group security on an
organizational level in the first two papers, to internationalised education through
globalisation as a cultural security threat in the context of developing countries in the third.
Each of the papers draws on critical perspectives in constructing an examination of
securitisation of education. Peter Milley uses Habermasean communicative and strategic
analysis to investigate the abuse of power and emotional manipulation in organizational
action as it affects individuals. Carol Harris uses a Machiavellian analysis through the lens of
Bobbitt’s perspective on Machiavelli as an ‘intense moralist’, combined with Collingwood’s
historicist principles, to explore the security of educational organizations under neoliberalism.
The final paper by Eugenie Samier examines the cultural security threat of exported
neoliberal education through globalisation through the critique of the Copenhagen School of
Cultural Security. Collectively, these papers present a theoretical and conceptual scaffolding
upon which to build a theory of educational security as both a critique and an aim, in the
spirit of critical theory.
Peter Milley (University of Ottawa)
Overt and Covert Strategic Maladministration, Insecurity, and the Problem of Passive Evil in
Educational Organizations
In 2008, Eugenie Samier broke new ground in the study of administrative ethics in education
with her article “The Problem of Passive Evil in Educational Administration: Moral
Implications of Doing Nothing.” She cast light on the issue of moral passivity among those
who witness unethical administrative behaviours but fail to respond, and described how this
behaviour is conditioned by, and complicit in, “the everyday cruelties and moral lapses taking
place within the ranks of [educational] administrators” (p. 2). Samier brought to the fore the
negative effects of this “moral muteness” on the psychological, emotional and economic
security of organizational members. Following Adams and Balfour (1990), she called for
conceptual frameworks that could elucidate the problem of passive evil and support the
reclamation moral agency in educational organizations.
My paper responds to this call. In it, I draw on Habermas’ (1984; 1989) model of social
action to extend Samier’s (2008) analysis. Having previously adapted Habermas’ model to
investigate moral, political and emotional dimensions of educational administration (Milley,
2001; 2008; 2009), I argue that it is suitable for examining the moral failings, abuse of power
and emotional manipulation that are at the heart of the problem of passive evil.
Following Habermas (1984; 1989), it is possible to distinguish two fundamental types of
organizational action: Communicative and strategic. Communicative action exists when
organizational members interact on a consensual basis to set goals and coordinate their
activities. It takes place through inclusive conversation, trustworthy communication, and
genuine reciprocity. Strategic action is when members interact with the main purpose of
achieving individual or organisational goals. Both forms of action are legitimate and
necessary, though strategic actions, such as the overuse of role authority to get results, often
reach inappropriate levels in organizations and lead to significant conflicts. However,
situations can become particularly dysfunctional and morally disturbing when someone
consciously sets out with malicious or immoral strategic intent to overtly or covertly
manipulate others (e.g., intimidation, lying, distorting communication). Things can be even
more problematic when someone is self-deceived in their intent. In such cases, she or he may
act in ways that are immoral while construing her or his actions to be legitimate and in the
best interests of the affected parties (e.g., serial abusers). Habermas (1970; 1984; 1989)
observes that this self-deception stems from systematic distortions in inter- and intrasubjective understandings and is often attended by pathologies.
Drawing on these concepts, I frame passive evil in educational organizations as a
dysfunctional and pathological phenomena stemming from overt, concealed and unconscious
forms of strategic action that are grounded in malicious or immoral intent. I offer an account
of how moral passivity settles in for organizational members at conscious and subconscious
levels, conditioned in part by defensive routines and self-deceptive rationalizations. I also
provide an inventory of the overt and covert tactics used by those with bad intent to foster
moral passivity. I offer insights about how moral agency might be reclaimed in educational
organizations through the recuperation of communicative practices that make the
organization safer and more secure for its members.
[words: 499]
References
Adams, G. and Balfour, D. (1998) Unmasking administrative evil. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Habermas, J. (1970). On systematically distorted communication. Inquiry: an
interdisciplinary journal of philosophy, 13(1-4): 205-218.
Habermas, J. (1984). The theory of communicative action: Reason and the rationalization of
society. T. McCarthy (Trans.). Boston: Beacon Press.
Habermas, J. (1989). The theory of communicative action: the lifeworld and the system. T.
McCarthy (Trans.). Boston: Beacon Press.
Milley, P. (2002). Imagining good organizations: Moral orders or moral communities?
Educational management administration and leadership, 30(1): 47-64.
Milley, P. (2008). On Jürgen Habermas’ Critical Theory and the Political Dimensions of
Educational Administration. In E. Samier & A. Stanley (Eds.), Political approaches to
educational administration and leadership (pp. 54-72). New York: Routledge.
Milley, P. (2009). Towards a Critical Theory of Emotions in Educational Leadership and
Administration: Building on Concepts from Jürgen Habermas. In E. Samier & M.
Schmidt (Eds.), Emotional dimensions of educational administration and leadership (pp.
65-82). New York: Routledge.
Samier, E. (2008). The problem of passive evil in educational administration: Moral
implications of doing nothing. International Studies in Educational Administration,
36(1), 2-21.
Carol E. Harris
Reading Machiavelli in Preparation for Educational Leadership:
Reclaiming a Secure and Realistic Perspective on Organizational Politics
Possibly no historical figure has provoked a stronger emotional response from organizational
leaders than Nicolo Machiavelli, seen variously as the epitome of evil or as a sensible realist
dispensing wise words of advice. Although he addressed his advice on leadership to a Medici
prince in the context of 16th century Italy, Machiavelli is read carefully today by certain
scholars of leadership and organizational theory (e.g., Migone, 2008; Hodgkinson, 1991), and
avoided assiduously by others in these fields. In this paper, I argue that educational
leadership programmes would (and occasionally do) benefit immensely from a close
examination of Machiavelli’s work. My perspective joins a growing body of administrative
theory which includes realistic portrayals of both ethical action within institutions and
‘organizational evil,” be the latter either passive (Samier, 2008) or intentional (O’Day, 1974).
This critical view, I argue, provides useful guidelines for action in the field, and restores
much needed credibility to university preparation programmes dominated by market
imperatives.
Recently, American author, academic and military/policy strategist Philip Bobbitt has
reignited the controversy around Machiavelli, portraying him as an ‘intense moralist’ who
faced difficult but unavoidable decisions not unlike those met today by world leaders. It is
difficult to read Bobbitt without drawing a parallel between decisions promoted by
Machiavelli and political moves made by today’s politicians, most notably Obama in the
American context. Colin Burrow (2013) joins other reviewers of Bobbitt’s interpretation,
warning that Machiavelli’s major message is that the state must be saved at any cost. This
message may well be applied ruthlessly by contemporary leaders.
In this paper, following philosopher and historian R.G. Collingwood, I argue that both
interpretations miss the appropriate application of Machiavelli for today. First, past events
should be read historically by placing oneself in the described time, place and political
situation. Second, events must be read critically, interpretively, and imaginatively in an
attempt to uncover one’s own presuppositions as well as those of historical actors. From
Collingwood’s (1936;1965) work on historical understanding, I extract the theme of
imaginative and critical reconstruction and from his political writings, I examine the concept
of underlying beliefs, meanings and values (presuppositions) that can be illuminated most
effectively through artistic and linguistic expression.
Lessons, drawn from The Prince and based on my own teaching experience at a Canadian
university, explore Collingwood’s historicity under three topics: the human condition; the
establishment of new organizations; and politics and morality. From the messages of
Machiavelli, I consider four benefits to organizational leaders and other members of the
organization as they:
1. Recognize power grabs in their pure, raw form;
2. Combat moves that are counter-productive to personal and collective well-being;
3. Apply common sense approaches to building organizations and maintaining their
strength; and
4. Explore an approach to history that calls for context (social, political and economic)
and interpretation, as well as informed imagination.
Together, these benefits augment educational security insofar as they further, in potential
leaders, an enhanced understanding of intellectually honesty, imagination, and authentic
social relationships.
[Words: 495]
References
Burrow, C. (2013). Modern model of an intense moralist. The Guardian Weekly, 189, 8, 3639.
Bobbitt, P. (2013). The garments of court and palace: Machiavelli and world that he made.
Grove Press.
Collingwood, R.G. (1965). Essays in the philosophy of history. Austin: University of Texas
Press.
Collingwood, R.G. (1936). Human nature and human interest. Paper of the Royal Academy,
May 20.
Hodgkinson, C. (1991). Educational leadership: The moral art. New York: SUNY Press/
Migone, A. (2008). Beyond foxes and lions: Machiavelli’s discourse on power and
leadership. In E.A. Samier & A.G. Stanley (Eds.), Political approaches to educational
administration and leadership (pp.23-36). London: Routledge.
O’Day, R. (1974) ‘Intimidation Rituals’, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 10, 3: 37386.
Samier, E. (2008). The problem of passive evil in educational administration, International
Studies in Educational Administration, 36 (1), 2-21.
Eugenie A. Samier (The British University in Dubai, UAE) and Abeer Al Rasbi (The British
University in Dubai, UAE)
Globalized Western Education as a Cultural Security Threat: Undermining the ‘Common
Weal’ of Developing Countries in the Arabian Gulf through Intellectual Recolonisation?
The main thesis of this paper is to advance a new approach to the critique of globalised
education: as a cultural security issue. While globalisation as a neoliberal transnational
economic movement has been criticised for commercialising education, altering the nature of
knowledge, the role of students and faculty, and the nature of curriculum and pedagogy, little
attention has been paid to the role of the university in particular through its globalisation
activities in the non-‘Western’ or developing world as a cultural security threat carried out by
non-state actors (e.g., Kirchner & Sperling, 2010), in this case foreign universities and
teaching faculty. Drawing on the recent expansion of security studies beyond the military and
traditional security sector, into human (e.g., Tadjbakhsh & Chenoy, 2007; Tehranian, 1999),
societal (e.g., Buzan, 1983) and cultural security (e.g., Friedman & Randeria, 2004) through
the work primarily of the Copenhagen School of Cultural Security (e.g., Buzan, Wæver & de
Wilde, 1989) this paper regards society and culture as referent objects of security in their own
right, and their ability to maintain ethno-national identities (Roe, 2010). This paper examines
culture, religion and identity from a security perspective that regards the nature of globalised
university in both tangible (objective) and intangible (subjective) security threat to the
integrity of indigenous culture and religion.
The UAE, one can argue, in the cultural sphere is subject to threats under the new
imperialism of globalised education and related intellectual ‘products’ through imported
consulting, and management and leadership programmes that collectively have a potential
eroding effect on cultural traditions, traditional political institutions, an Islamicised
worldview, and national identity:
1. Imported curriculum and teaching that privileges a secularised worldview and values;
2. Western cultural precepts in administration and leadership that reflect their
jurisdictional characteristics and transmit foreign models of authority, leadership, and
political legitimacy;
3. Cultural practices of foreign staff (in the UAE higher than 80% of total population),
many of whom work in sensitive policy and management levels and in higher
education;
4. Potential higher education impact on other societal sectors such as the economy,
politics, the family, culture and religion (e.g., Katzenstein, 1996); and
5. The neglect and exclusion of a vast, rich, and varied Islamic and Arab scholarship.
Part of this study illustrates these issues as they relate to Emirati women rising into higher
education leadership positions in the context of a university case study. The thesis presented
here also draws on the issues discussed by Williams (2007) in the symbolic forms of power
that shape the cultural security problem, by drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of the interplay
between culture and strategy in his critique of Western domination, and as it complements a
critical theory and post-colonial critique of industrialised Western hegemony in economic,
political, and cultural spheres of the developing world as it is created and carried in higher
education as it applies to the Arabian Gulf with a focus on the United Arab Emirates.
References:
Buzan, B. (2007) People, States and Fear: The National Security Problem in International
Relations, 2nd edn. Wivenhoe Park, UK: ECPR Press.
Buzan, B., Wæver, O. and de Wilde, J. (1998) Security: A New Framework for Analysis.
Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Roe, P. (2010) ‘Societal security’, in A. Collins (ed.) Contemporary Security Studies (202217). 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Friedman, J. and Randeria, S. (eds) (2004) Worlds on the Move: Globalization, Migration
and Cultural Security. London: I. B. Tauris.
Katzenstein, P. (ed.) (1996) The Culture of National Security: Norms and Identity in World
Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kirchner, E. and Sperling, J. (eds) (2010) National Security Cultures: Patterns of Global
Governance. Abingdon: Routledge.
Tadjbakhsh, S. and Chenoy, A. (2007) Human Security: Concepts and Implications. London:
Routledge.
Tehranian, M. (ed.) (1999) Worlds Apart: Human Security and Global Governance. London:
I. B. Tauris.
Williams, M. (2007) Symbolic Power and the Politics of International Security. Abingdon:
Routledge.