The International Schools Review Forum

Would anybody be able to advise what the switch into admin/leadership typically looks like on the international teaching scene? How many years of teaching experience is typically accumulated before this happens? Is it typical or required to have a Masters in Educational Leadership/Management to be accepted into admin? I noticed that many such Masters programs do not have listed requirements on teaching experience. Therefore, if a teacher has a career goal of getting into admin, would it be fair to say that they should complete the M.Ed in Educational Leadership ASAP, regardless of experience?

Thanks in advance for everybody’s advice.

You will likely get a range of opinions and experiences on this subject (as well you should). I think you will see a wide range of qualifications for admin types on the int'l circuit. Just as with recruitment of teachers, the bigger/better schools will generally want and be able to attract admin candidates with more experience and higher educational degrees.

Smaller, newer, less desirable schools and locations will generally be open to the right candidate with possibly less experience as a teacher and/or admin and no advanced admin degree. There will always be exceptions to this. If a current owner, or admin likes you and feels you have potential then they are sometimes prone to hiring/promoting pretty much anyone they please.

I would say to be a solid candidate for entry into int'l leadership you should have at least 5 years of teaching in your field. An advanced leadership degree is not required per se but many current admin types will have one as will many competing candidates. Actual experience in leadership in your home country (or any school) would be an advantage obviously but everyone has to start somewhere (and a relevant advanced degree coupled with solid teaching experience could still give a candidate some credibility.

Schools will hire/promote from within. Some schools prefer to hire admin with previous int'l experience as a teacher and/or admin while other schools (even elite ones) are quite happy to bring a star candidate in with no previous int'l experience.

So, if your ultimate goal is int'l leadership then an advanced leadership degree would certainly help your cause (although I would not say it needs to be ASAP). In the meantime, get your teaching experience clocked and look to take on any appropriate leadership roles open to you (e.g. committees, HoD, Coordinator etc. Also, if it fits your personal needs, when you are ready, consider taking a risk by looking into leadership positions at start ups or schools in less desirable locations, pay your dues, make good contacts and be prepared to work your way up the int'l ladder.

Leadership is about trust, there are essentially three ways in:

1) You start as an IT at an IS, stay longer than most who leave, and then when the the IS needs someone, your there, ownership trusts and likes you, and you work well with current leadership, you understand the students and the parents and they ask you to take the job. This is how many lower and mid tier ISs recruit leadership vacancies

2) You have a strong resume in leadership, and an IS is looking for new ideas, and they bring you in because you are an outsider. Other DSs/ISs have trusted you and like you, and they think you will bring new and positive change. This is what happens mostly with mid and upper tier ISs.

3) Your part of the network and "know someone" either in ownership or leadership, and as a result you have an "in".

Between 2-6 years of experience, some ITs get their first break with their first bottom tier IS, and they are one of few that stayed, and the current leadership is in at least part, on its way out, and they need someone who understands the IS dynamic and culture. Its not about innovation or growth, its about being someone the IS understands is going to go with the flow, and ownerships ethos. Many such leadership members have no prior experience in anything close to leadership.

An advance leadership degree is certainly helpful and in many regions that dont have credentials for leadership an M.Ed in Ed.Ld. is the defacto leadership credential. There are many leadership team members that have Bachelors degrees, and experience is still King, if youve run an IS/DS in the past successfully it doesnt matter much what your academic credentials are.
There are a significant number of lower tier ISs that will hire leadership with prestigious degrees, and resumes in management who have no educational background or experience at all.
Many however do have an advance degree in education.

That was really insightful and helped me understand the scene a lot better. Thank you.

A jump from teaching to admin, in any school whether international or domestic, first requires the applicant to drop twenty or thirty IQ points and lose all semblance of honesty, integrity, courage, and creativity.

Unless it is a partial teaching position (or you are one of the really exceptional ones).

Fair enough.

@senator: "A jump from teaching to admin, in any school whether international or domestic, first requires the applicant to drop twenty or thirty IQ points and lose all semblance of honesty, integrity, courage, and creativity."

A witty and insightful comment straight out of the Higgs Bosun playbook. Or perhaps you're really Senator Rubio or Senator Cruz. They make a lot of cretinous statements designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator...

Exceptional leadership is like 'gifted and talented special education' or random pattern.

Nah, it's real. It's just the exception, which is what makes it exceptional!

::giggle::

@Thames Pirate

Thats a slightly different statement regarding [(leadership) + (exceptional)]

Walter:

"Higgs Bosun"? "Cretinous"?

I'll bet you've done a lot of admin work in your career, haven't you lad?

Who are Rubio and Cruz?