Training Administrators for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse School Populations: Opinions of Expert Practitioners

Cultural and linguistic diversity has changed the social fabric of today's schools. Currently, there is a wider variety of cultural, language, and family backgrounds than ever before. As a result of the increasing numbers of language minority students with unique educational and social needs, some studies suggest that principals need specialized training to ensure that all students have equal access to an education based on academic excellence and high expectations. Yet there are limited opportunities for aspiring administrators to receive specialized training for working with culturally and linguistically diverse school populations. As a result, many school administrators may lack the necessary preparation to develop policies and implement educational programs for diverse students. This paper is based on the premise that administrator preparation programs exist within the context of school and society interactions. Changes in administrator practices in school settings require corresponding changes in university-based administrator training programs. The research study reported in this paper describes and examines the recommendations of “expert” principals for the modification of administrator preparation programs based on interactions that exist between the changes in the demographics of society, impact on the schools, and impact on administrators. The goal is that university-based training programs would play a critical role in equipping aspiring administrators with the necessary competencies to become effective instructional leaders in multiethnic schoolsettings.