Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION & LEADERSHIP, cilt.7, sa.2, ss.283-318, 2022 (ESCI)
In recent years, significant efforts have been made by Turkish researchers to contribute to knowledge production in the field of educational administration to match the scholarly endeavor of their international peers. The main purpose of these scientific studies, including dissertations, is to produce knowledge and offer original alternatives to solving problems through several philosophical approaches. Consistent with this effort, the present study aims to evaluate the dissertations produced in the field of educational administration epistemologically as well as ontologically, in respect of Habermas's knowledge taxonomy. The research was conducted using document and discourse analysis, which are qualitative research methods, and 215 dissertations prepared in 23 different universities accessed from Council of Higher Education Thesis Center database were analyzed. The results show that Eskisehir Osmangazi, Hacettepe and Ankara Universities take the lead in the production of dissertations. It was found the number of males was higher in both researcher and supervisor positions, that mainly quantitative research methods were used, and that empirical-analytical knowledge was produced. The limitation of historical-hermeneutical/interpretative and critically oriented knowledge types is another original finding. The dataset included only dissertations and excluded other sources from Turkey. The authors believe that this study will serve as basis for a better understanding of the current features of the field. In addition, this study, which was conducted in a non-Western country, is expected to affect the knowledge production trend in the field of educational administration and support the diversity of knowledge in dissertations, which are detailed studies shedding light on the future.