The transition from direct caregiver to administrator in early childhood education

This paper recommends ways to improve the preparation of child care administrators. The discussion is based on a research study that explored the nature of this complex administrative role and how it was learned. Sixteen preschool directors, mostly women with little formal preparation in educational leadership, moved into the position from being teachers. They described struggles with issues of isolation without a peer group and resolving a perceived tension with being an authority figure while needing to provide responsive support to other adults in a nurturing environment (both teachers and parents). The most difficult hurdles to becoming a leader in early childhood settings were internal rather than organizational management concerns. Successful strategies for addressing these issues included having an assistant director or mentor inside the organization who could act as a sounding-board and maintaining external relationships with peers in other educational settings who could offer alternative perspectives on shared problems. The directors were not advocates of formal programs in educational administration in spite of the difficulties of learning by experience. However, the best preparation for early childhood administrators would encompass both practical and theoretical knowledge and include some form of internship. © 1999 Human Sciences Press, Inc.