GRADUATE PROGRAMS, CERTIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the standards and criteria of graduate programs and credential requirements for special education administrators; ascertain practicing administrators' representative functions and performance requirements; and determine if interrelationships exist among these variables. Data were ordered in a format that should contribute to planning at the national, state and university levels. Data were gathered from universities, state education agencies and special education administrators. Universities, states and practicing administrators agreed that coursework/competency requirements emphasizing training and experience in both general and special education is appropriate. Fifty-six percent of the universities reported offering the necessary coursework in both areas, but only thirty-eight percent of the states had such requirements. In general, universities had more specific requirements than states. However, the coursework emphases and state requirements were found to be inconsistent with administrators' perceptions of knowledge and skills important to their jobs. Currently, forty states require certification for special education administrators: 13 as Directors of Special Education, 7 as Special Education Supervisors, 8 as General Administrators with Special Education Endorsement, 12 as General Administrators. Additionally, four states offer but do not require administrative credentials and two states require teaching credentials only. It was concluded that graduate programs often do not prepare special education administrators for the roles they actually perform. University and state requirements should parallel one another and both should reflect basic skills and competencies required on the job. Graduate program requirements need to place more emphasis in the areas of law and legal issues, public relations, fiscal procedures, personnel management, supervision and evaluation--both as basic administrative competencies and skills and as they relate to special education in particular. Appropriate internship experiences should be required by states as well as universities to provide expertise in such areas as report writing and public relations.