The International Schools Review Forum

Hi,

I'm an IT myself, and my husband is considering going into teaching himself.
Even though I'm very sure he would be a good teacher, I think he would be even better in management, and although he hadn't thought about that yet (not thinking it was an option), after I mentioned it, he's got very excited about the idea.

I know almost all leadership positions at IS are filled by former teachers, but is it possible to get into leadership if you haven't been teaching?

Are there certain Master degrees (MA Educational Leadership I assume) to obtain to make yourself attractive to an IS, or other degrees of certifications, or will schools always prefer former teachers for leadership roles, and simple not hire those who haven't taught?

Any input will be greatly appreciated!

I won't say it never happens, because it does. I have seen it with my own eyes, an actual real person with no school experience. Spent 1 year doing some occasional subbing, then another year hired full-time as a sort of odd-jobs person around school. Then I left for a year, and BAM, she had been given a principal's post in a faraway school. Nice person, did her odd jobs well, but I never understood exactly how that leap came about.
But I wouldn't say it's a typical path. Very rare, in my experience. Ed leadership masters programs usually require applicants to already have a teaching qualification and experience; you might find one that doesn't, I suppose. Even applying would be a bit of a challenge. There's usually a personal statement of sorts, and you'll have to persuade them to give you a spot that would otherwise go to someone else.
There are easier routes to non-teaching jobs in schools. Can your partner work in finance, IT, development, admissions, PR, HR? These can all be serious jobs/careers, with leadership potential, though not usually Principal or Headship level.

Oh man, your husband might be a wonderful person, but I certainly wouldn't want to work under someone with no classroom experience. I prefer my admin to have multiple (read 6 or more) years in the classroom. Why? They've been in the trenches, know what it is like, tend to try to safeguard their staff and staff time more when possible, and just have more clue about things. Now your husband might be a great administrator - but the kind of school that would hire him after zero years of teaching is not the kind of school I ever want to teach at.

I agree with shadowjack. If I had an admin with little to now teaching experience, I would roll my eyes and ignore almost everything they said.

In IT, it is possible. I've seen people with no teaching experience work as admin, usually because they have connections with the owner of a school or company. But none of these people were good at their jobs. Your husband might be the nicest person in the world, but if he hasn't ever taught, he has no business leading or advising teachers. He will not be good at it with no practical experience, and he will probably end up relying heavily on the advice of a select few teachers to inform his decisions. This will lead to mistakes. He will not be popular among his staff.

But I am sure he can get a job in IT admin if he wants anyway.

Bizarrely, I've been thinking about this lately.

While I understand the idea that the headteacher needs to have spent "time in the trenches", I do wonder whether we're missing a bit of a trick in education. In a business, the Chief Executive of a large company might come from an accounting background, so doesn't have any knowledge or experience of marketing (or vice versa.) So what he does is make sure that the people he makes responsible for that area have sufficient experience of it, so he can rely on them for advice and decision making (and gives them the authority to do that.) Indeed, a good CE provides strategic direction without getting involved in the nitty gritty of the business on a day-to-day level - he leaves that to his senior managers.

In international schools, the role of the Headmaster / Principal is probably much closer to that of the Chief Executive. So, provided appropriate authority is devolved to the heads of school, does he actually need to be a teacher? He would also need to be someone who would listen to advice before taking action, and be sure that the people he has in place are people he is able to work with closely and trust.

Going back to the OP, there are roles within admin in the bigger schools which could use his management experience - think along the lines of the equivalent of a Business Manager in UK schools. That might be worth pursuing.

For the most part I agree that I want my leaders to be educational professionals. As a leader, I spend a good amount of time working with teachers on challenges with curriculum, planning, behavior, classroom design.... How would a non-educator possibly take on this part of my role.
I also plan and lead lots of PD, again requiring that I can first identify what is needed (where we need to improve as a school) and then design the PD that will move the school forward. Even if I'm not going to lead it myself, I still need to know what's needed and who can help. How would a non-educator do that?
In the larger schools, approaching 2,000 students or more, perhaps a CEO-type could do the job. Orchestrating the work of others requires a certain level of knowledge of what that work is, but not the same level as those people must have. In my largest school, I was one of a team of 20 administrators - big school, big team. The director was definitely an education professional, and I prefer that he was, but in reality, maybe he didn't need to be, so long as the admin team had the chops to handle their briefs. Then again, what if one of the team was a dud? How would the director know? How would she be able to address it, other than firing and starting over? I've benefited from the mentoring and example of each of my bosses - what if my boss couldn't mentor me in education, but only in business?
In a small school, the leader wears every hat and works with every teacher on every level of stuff. Only an educational professional could pull that off well. Says me.

Generally I would say a building administrator without teaching experience would be a disaster all the way around. However, there are admin type positions available in schools, particularly large schools, that having teaching experience wouldn't necessarily be necessary or even practical. What type of skills does he have that could be applied at a school. My school has all sorts of financial, marketing, tech, building management administrators that are not or have ever been teachers.

There are 3 general avenues into leadership:
1) Grow In: You start at an IS as an IT, you work well with leadership, parents and ownership, and then when there is an opening you get the job because ownership trusts you and leadership and parents like you. This pathway is faster at lower tier ISs, where there is a lot of turnover and longevity often means your only one of the few staff to renew.
2) Work In: You get a M.Ed in Ed.Ld, you add a credential, you build some leadership or management experience and you work your way up into leadership. This may and often requires some work in DE. This is the pathway that accounts for the majority of leadership. Candidates were leadership in DE, and they were hired as leadership in IE.
3) Edge In: You make friends and build a network, maybe you marry into, but someone in ownership likes you and gives you the job, or someone in leadership helps you get into the job. This is the least common path into leadership.

In regards to the other contributors, I generally disagree. It doesnt matter what ITs or other leadership think would work. What matters is what ownership thinks, and there is a not uncommon group of single business minded ownership who thinks "business" in the terms of what IE is, and ownership wants someone who thinks the way they do so that decisions are more likely to be made inline with what ownership would do and wants.
I strongly disagree with @Sid, the issue of PD may be an issue for them, but there are ISs that dont do PD at all, and ones that do than leadership can assign the task to an IT. How would the HOS know a dud without an edu background, the same way they know a dud anywhere, or they would task their leadership subordinate too assess it, then follow their recommendation.
What does being in the trenches mean anymore? You can be a professionally credentialed DT/IT in a couple of days with a number of routes. How hard is it to stand on one side of a room and talk to students and then give them a test? Are those best practices, is there more to it, sure. If someone has never been a chef does that mean they cant cook? Does one need to be a chef or have been a chef to manage a restaurant?

The problem with "other roles" in an IS that are in the business or operations side would require a skill set your spouse doesnt have. Its not just the work nature whether its accounting or marketing, its 1) Knowing the business culture in the region and 2) being able to communicate in the local language. Even with those hiring a position as an OSh as opposed to a local LH is very costly.