The PADI: An Instrument for Measuring Philosophical Values

Abstract

Individuals who occupy a position of responsibility in any formal organization are often confronted by day-to-day situations for which there are no specific institutional rules or policies defining a mandatory or most appropriate course of action to be followed in resolving issues or making decisions related to the situation.1 This seems to be especially true within the context of an educational organization, whether in the process of selecting materials and methods for teaching students or in the administrative operation of the total school system. Given such "open" situations, a question arises concerning how, in fact, an individual makes a situational decision under these nonspecified conditions. It has been suggested that by defining an individual's choice among the alternatives with which he is faced in any decision making situation, and knowing the extent to which he believes each alternative is likely to result in a particular outcome, it is thereby possible to predict what his desicion will be. Aside from the question of the feasibility and practieality of such a procedure in an educational setting, a subtle issue can be raised in trying to explain the initial rationale by which an educator might define each situational alternative and make his choice among such alternatives.