Preparation of school administrators 1984

The purpose of this investigation was to determine how graduates perceive their qualifications to perform as a school administrator. Three hundred and nineteen 1984 spring graduates with a doctoral degree were surveyed using an instrument that was developed from competencies and related skills adopted by the A.A.S.A. as needed for performing as a school administrator;Graduates' perceived qualifications to perform were compared in seven areas: climate, politics, curriculum, instruction management, staff development, resources, and research. The comparison was to find if the graduates' perceived qualifications remained constant in all areas. Graduates' responses were screened to identify items on the questionnaire on which 30 percent or more of the graduates felt "less than qualified" to demonstrate their proficiency. The graduates who felt "less than qualified" were isolated to see if demographic characteristics affected perceived qualifications. Graduates' perceived qualifications to perform were tested against grouped demographic characteristics to see if these characteristics affected respondents' perceived qualifications;Findings indicated that graudates' perceived qualifications to perform were significantly different in four of the seven major areas. Graduates felt significantly more qualified in dealing with climate and staff development, while feeling significantly less qualified in dealing with curriculum and politics. Demographic characteristics were not related to perceived qualifications of graduates who felt "less than qualified" to perform. Grouped demographic characteristics were not associated with graduates' perceived qualifications to perform;Two general conclusions were reached: (1) graduates do not feel the same degree of qualification to perform in all areas studied; and (2) demographic characteristics were not related to graduates' feeling of qualifications to perform. The findings suggested several questions: Do we teach differently in some areas? Do we have more formal courses in some areas? Is the difference because of formal education?