Strategies to Expand the Pool from which Talented Persons Are Recruited for Preparation in Educational Administration.

Current recruitment efforts in educational administration are limited by the narrow target population considered (which seldom extends beyond professional educators) and the unsystematic methods utilized. In addition, five significant obstacles to effective recruitment are (1) the lack of information about educational administration among potential recruits, (2) the occupation's low perceived status as a career, (3) the restrictions to entry into the occupation, (4) the problems of graduate study for persons already established, and (5) the low general opinion of preparation programs in educational administration. Strategies to ease the recruitment problems include: (1) Communicate to high school seniors information about the career, (2) encourage talented young people to enter preparation programs from pools traditionally ignored by current recruitment efforts, (3) recruit persons from other careers in which relevant competencies are developed, and (4) recruit paraprofessionals to serve in supportive administrative roles in big-city school systems. To conduct the recruitment program, a consortium composed of the following kinds of agencies should be created: (1) A nationwide group of selected universities and associated school systems (it is recommended that UCEA serve this need), (2) a firm to produce printed and audiovisual materials, (3) a public relations or advertising firm, and (4) one or more funding establishments. (HW)