This book, consisting of articles by separate authors, traces the historical and ideological development of textbooks in educational administration through five separate phases. "From Idea to Ideology: School Administration Texts 1820-1914" by Robert Mason analyzes 19th Century perspectives on school administration based on texts from that time, showing how the ideas informing school organization reflected the moral idealism affirmed by the established society of the time. "From Ideology to Conventional Wisdom: School Administration Texts 1915-1933" by William Eaton continues this analysis, showing how the ideas of Ellwood P. Cubberley dominated the field of educational administration at this time. "From Conventional Wisdom to Concept: School Administration Texts 1934-1945" by James C. Parker shows how educational administration textbook writers during this period sought to interpret and apply two opposing educational philosophies: the school as the agency of society and the school as the pioneer of society. In "A Return to Rhetoric: School Administration Texts 1946-1955," Fred D. Carver contends that the dominant emphases in educational administration textbooks during this period were democratic administration and community schools, and that by the end of the period, a quest for a new scientific basis for administration was apparent. In the last essay, "Factualism to Theory, Art to Science: School Administration Texts 1955-1985," Thomas E. Glass reviews the wide range of recent textbooks in administration to show a strong emphasis on theory development and the use of models and techniques from the social and behavioral sciences. The book concludes with an overview, also by Thomas E. Glass, of themes that characterize each period discussed. (TE)