An Examination of Approaches to Field-Based Learning in Other Professions.

Overview & Synopsis

An earlier review (Daresh and LaPlant 1985) resulted in an impression that most field-based training in educational administration is understaffed and undervalued. Accordingly, this review analyzes the historical development of apprenticeship models used in the preparation and continuing education of practitioners in medicine and law, in order to discover commonalities and differences in underlying assumptions with the field of educational administration. Topics discussed include (1) the historical relationship between apprenticeship and employee training; (2) the development and assumptions of legal education; (3) the history of medical education; and (4) the trends and issues in medical education. The subsequent section presents analogies and differences between the assumptions governing education and training in law and medicine and those that characterize the field of educational administration. The paper concludes with seven "lessons" to be learned from the comparison with respect to administrator preparation programs. (TE)