Principals' perceptions of competence needed for administration of special education: Implications for principal preparation programs

The purpose of this research project was to determine what Illinois elementary- and middle-school principals, with and without special-education training, identified as competence needed to perform the daily administration of building-level special-education programs. The extent to which principals without special-education training have preparation in special education, special-education service delivery indicators, and implications for principal preparation programs were also studied. Illinois college- and university-approved programs for the general administrative certification were surveyed to determine the extent to which these programs included special-education requirements. This study included 150 Illinois elementary- and middle-school principals, with and without special-education training.;The study revealed (a) the 10 competencies most needed to perform the daily administration of special-education programs as identified by participants, (b) the need for adequate background in special-education for effective special-education service delivery, and (c) that over half of the principals without special-education certification had taken a maximum of one special-education course in their undergraduate studies and nearly two thirds had taken a maximum of one special-education course in their graduate-level coursework. This study also indicated that of the 28 approved principal preparation programs in Illinois, only three programs had special-education coursework requirements for the general administrative certification. These three programs required only one special-education course. General questions posed by this study provided information that may assist with the restructuring of principal preparation programs to prepare building-level principals more adequately for the administration of special education.