Smooth operation of an educational institution requires competent administrators. Education administrators provide direction, leadership, and day-to-day management of educational activities in schools, colleges and universities, businesses, correctional institutions, museums, and job training and community service organizations.
Education administrators set educational standards and goals and aid in establishing the policies and procedures to carry them out. They develop academic programs; monitor students' educational progress; train and motivate teachers and other staff; manage guidance and other student services; administer recordkeeping; prepare budgets; handle relations with parents, prospective students, employers, and the community; and perform many other activities.
They also supervise managers, management support staff, teachers, counselors, librarians, coaches, and others.
In an organization such as a small daycare center, there may be one administrator who handles all these functions. In universities or large school systems, responsibilities are divided among many administrators, each with a specific function.
Principals manage elementary and secondary schools. They set the academic tone and they hire teachers and other staff, help them improve their skills, and evaluate them. Principals confer with staff—advising, explaining, or answering procedural questions. They visit classrooms, observe teaching methods, review instructional objectives, and examine learning materials.
They actively work with teachers to develop and maintain high curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives. As pay-for-performance becomes an accepted standard for teachers, principals must ensure that they are using clear, objective guidelines for teacher appraisals.
Principals also meet and interact with other administrators, students, parents, and representatives of community organizations. As decision-making authority shifts from school district central offices to individual schools, parents, teachers, and other members of the community are playing an increasingly important role in setting school policies and goals. Principals must pay attention to the concerns of these groups when making administrative decisions.
Principals prepare budgets and reports on various subjects, including finances and attendance, and oversee the requisitioning and allocation of supplies. As school budgets become tighter, many principals are becoming more involved in public relations and fund raising in an effort to secure financial support for their schools from local businesses. Many principals take an active role in developing school/business partnerships and school-to-work transition programs for students.
In recent years, schools have become more involved with students' emotional welfare as well as their academic achievement. As a result, principals face new responsibilities. For example, in response to the growing number of dual-income and single-parent families and teenage parents, more schools have before- and after-school child-care programs or family resource centers, which also may offer parenting classes and social service referrals. With the help of community organizations, some principals have established programs to combat the increase in crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and sexually transmitted disease among students.
Assistant principals aid the principal in the overall administration of the school. Some assistant principals hold this position for several years to prepare for advancement to principal; others are career assistant principals. Depending on the number of students, the number of assistant principals a school employs may vary. They are responsible for programming student classes, ordering textbooks and supplies, and coordinating transportation, custodial, cafeteria, and other support services.
They usually handle discipline, attendance, social and recreational programs and health and safety. They also may counsel students on personal, educational, or vocational matters.
As site-based management becomes more prevalent, assistant principals are playing greater role in curriculum development, evaluating teachers, school-community relations, and responsibilities previously assumed solely by the principal.
Administrators in school district central offices manage public schools under their jurisdiction. This group includes those who direct subject area programs such as English, music, vocational education, special education, and mathematics. They evaluate, standardize, and improve curriculums and teaching techniques, and help teachers improve their skills and learn new methods and materials. They oversee career counseling programs, and test which measures improve students’ abilities and help place them in appropriate classes.
Central office administration also includes directors of programs such as guidance, school psychology, athletics, curriculum and instruction, and profession development. With the trend toward site-based management, principals and assistant principals, along with teachers and other staff have primary responsibility for many of these programs in the individual schools.
In colleges and universities, academic deans, deans of faulty, provosts, and/or university deans assist presidents and develop budgets and academic policies and programs. They direct and coordinate activities of deans of individual colleges and chairpersons of academic departments.
College or university department heads or chairpersons are in charge of departments such as English, biological science, and mathematics. In addition to teaching, they coordinate scheduling of classes and teaching assignments; propose budgets; conduct interviews, and hire applicants for teaching positions; evaluate faulty members; encourage faculty development; and perform other administrative duties. In overseeing their departments, chairpersons must consider and balance the concerns of faculty, administrators, and students.
Higher education administrators also provide student services. Vice presidents of student affairs or student life, deans, students, and directors of student services may direct and coordinate admissions, foreign student services, health and counseling services, career services, financial aid, and housing and residential life, as well as social, recreational, and related programs. In small colleges, they may counsel students.
Registrars are custodians of students' education records. They register students, prepare student transcripts, evaluate academic records, oversee the preparation of college catalogs and schedules of classes, and analyze registration statistics.
Directors of admissions manage the process of recruiting and admitting students, and work close with financial aid directors, who oversee scholarship, fellowship and loan programs. Registrars and admissions officers must adapt to technological innovations in student information systems such as touch-tone voice response, desktop publishing, and presentation of information—college catalogs and schedules, for example—on computer systems, including the Internet. Director of student activities plan and arrange social, cultural and recreational activities, assist student-run organizations, and may orient new students. Athletic directors plan and direct intramural and intercollegiate athletic activities, including publicity for athletic events, preparation of budgets, and supervision of coaches.
Working Conditions
Education administrators hold management positions with significant responsibility. Coordinating and interacting with faculty, parents, and students can be fast-paced and stimulating, but it is stressful and demanding. Some jobs include travel. Principals and assistant principals whose main duty is often discipline may find working with difficult students frustrating, but challenging.
The number of school-age children is rising, and some school systems have hired assistant principals when a school's population increased significantly. In other school systems, principals may manage larger student bodies, which can also be stressful.
Most education administrators work more than 40 hours a week, including many nights and weekends when they oversee school activities. Unlike teachers, they usually work year round.
Employment
Education administrators hold about 393,000 jobs. About 9 out of 10 are in educational services—in elementary, secondary, and technical schools and colleges and universities; the rest work in child daycare centers, religious organizations, training centers, state departments of education, businesses and other organizations that provide training activities for their employees.
Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
Education administrator is not usually an entry-level job. Most education administrators begin their careers in related occupations, and prepare for a job in education administration by completing a master's or doctoral degree. Because of the diversity of duties and levels of responsibility, their educational backgrounds and experience vary considerably. Principals, assistant principals, central office administrators, and academic deans usually have taught or held another related job before moving into administration. Some teachers move directly into principal positions; others first become assistant principals, or gain experience in other central office administrative jobs at either the school or district level in positions such as department head, curriculum specialist, or subject matter advisor. In some cases, administrators move up to related staff jobs such as recruiter, guidance counselor, librarian, residence hall director, or financial aid or admissions counselor. Earning a graduate degree generally improves one's advancement opportunities in education administration.
To be considered for education administrator positions, workers must first prove themselves in their current jobs. In evaluating candidates, supervisors look for determination, confidence, innovativeness, motivation, leadership, and managerial attributes, such as ability to make sound decisions and organize and coordinate work efficiently. Since much of an administrator's job involves interacting with others, from students to parents to teachers, they must have strong interpersonal skills and be effective communicators and motivators. Knowledge of management principles and practices, gained through work experience and formal education, is important.
In public schools, principals, assistant principals, and school administrators in central offices need a master's degree in education administration or educational supervision, and a state teaching certificate. Some principals and central office administrators have a doctorate or specialized degree in education administration. In private schools, which are not subject to state certification requirements, some principals and assistant principals hold only a bachelor's degree. However, the majority have a master's or doctoral degree. Licensing standards for principals are currently being developed and are expected to be in place. The Interstate Principals Licensure Consortium will be the licensing body.
Academic deans and chairpersons usually have a doctorate in their specialty. Most have held a professorship in their department before advancing. Admissions, student affairs, and financial aid directors and registrars sometimes start in related staff jobs with bachelor's degrees—any field usually is acceptable— and obtain advanced degrees in college student affairs or higher education administration. A Ph.D. or Ed. D. usually is necessary for top student affairs positions. Computer literacy and a background in mathematics or statistics may be assets in admissions, records, and financial work.
Advanced degrees in higher education administration, educational supervision, and college student affairs are offered in many colleges and universities. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education accredits programs. Education administration degree programs include courses in school management, school law, school finance and budgeting, curriculum development and evaluation, research design and data analysis, community relations, politics in education, counseling, and leadership. Educational supervision degree programs include courses in supervision of instruction and curriculum, human relations, curriculum development, research, and advanced pedagogy courses.
Education administrators advance by moving up an administrative ladder or transferring to larger schools or systems. They also may become superintendent of a school system or president of an educational institution.
Job Outlook
Substantial competition is expected for prestigious jobs as education administrators. Many teachers and other staff meet the education and experience requirements for these jobs, and seek promotion. However, the number of openings is relatively small; only the most highly qualified are selected. Candidates who have the most formal education and who are willing to relocate should have the best job prospects.
Employment of education administrators is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations. Most job openings, particularly for principals and assistant principals, are likely to result from the need to replace administrators who retire. Additional openings will be created by workers who transfer to other occupations.
Employment of education administrators will grow as more services are provided to students; as efforts to improve the quality of education continue; and as institutions comply with government regulations. As school enrollments increase, job opportunities for assistant principals will grow. Rather than opening new schools, many existing school populations will grow, spurring demand for assistant principals to help with the increased workload.
The number of education administrators employed depends largely on state and local expenditures for education. Budgetary constraints could result in fewer administrators than anticipated; pressures to increase spending to improve the quality of education could result in more.
Earnings
Salaries of education administrators vary according to position, level of responsibility and experience, and the size and location of the institution. Generally, principals employed in public schools earn higher salaries than those in private schools.
Based on a salary survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, master's degree candidates in education administration received starting salary offers averaging $31,600 a year; doctoral degree candidates in education administration, $58,600.
Related Occupations
Education administrators apply organizational and leadership skills to provide services to individuals. Workers in related occupations include health services administrators, social service agency administrators, recreation and park managers, museum directors, library directors, and professional and membership organization executives. Since principals and assistant principals generally have extensive teaching experience, their background are similar to those of teachers and many school counselors.
Related D.O.I Jobs
These job titles are related to or more specific than the general description given above. They will help you identify job options you may not otherwise discover. These descriptions are in the current edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles an classified by numerical order.
There are too many D.O. T. titles to list here. Most are variations related to a specific industry, and we have included a small number of representative D.O. T. titles as examples. Complete lists are available in various career software published by JIST or directly from the U.S. Department of Labor.
090.117-010 ACADEMIC DEAN; 090.117-014 ALUMNI SECRETARY 090.117-018 DEAN OF STUDENTS; 090.117-022 DIRECTOR, ATHLETICK 090.117-030 FINANCIAL-AID OFFICER; 090.167-010 DEPARTMENT HEAD, COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY; 090.167-014 DIRECTOR OF AE MISSIONS; 090.167-022 DIRECTOR OF STUDENT AFFAIRS; 090.16: 030 REGISTRAR, COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY; 090.167-034 DIRECTOR FIELD SERVICES; 091.107-010 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL; 092.167-01 DIRECTOR, DAY CARE CENTER; 094.167-014 DIRECTOR, SPECIA EDUCATION; 097.167-010 DIRECTOR, VOCATIONAL TRAININC 099.117-010 DIRECTOR, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM; 099.117-014 EDUCATION SUPERVISOR, CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION; 099.117-01 PRINCIPAL; 100.117-010 LIBRARY DIRECTOR
Sources of Additional Information
For information on elementary and secondary school principals, assistant principals, and central office administrators, contact:
- American Federation of School Administrators Washington, DC 20009.□ American Association of School Administrators, 180 Arlington, VA 22209
