Careers in Educational Leadership
- Assessment Specialist
- Academic Advisor
- Executive Director
- Dean of Students
- Department Chair
Specialized training in a selected line of work offers more opportunities for growth, a bigger salary and satisfaction from the top careers in educational leadership. The education arena is flooded with teachers who do a great job in their tenures and sometimes take an extra step to specialize in educational leadership. The field is different from that of an educational administrator and requires refined interpersonal skills, leadership abilities and business acuteness. An educational leader has countless opportunities in the education fair ranging from pre-school institutions to higher tertiary schools.
1. Assessment Specialist
This is a great educational career that involves analyzing academic reports and data. They perform extensive comparisons on dynamics in classes, use of school resources and the performance of students and teachers. Their final reports contain solutions to shift the school's performance to a higher level. Assessment specialists work in unison with other school staff to draft the best possible solutions by interpreting the analysis reports. They seek the services of professional IT specialists to create comprehensive simple visual reports such as graphs, charts and presentations detailing their examinations. An assessment specialist has background information on statistics and psychology which contributes to the educational leadership.
2. Academic Advisor
This top educational career post involves conducting one-on-one engagements with students to analyze their academic progress and work out a realistic and effective course of action. It is their primary role to ascertain that a student achieves the required academic and professional minimums. They offer basic guidance in the school's admission and enrollment processes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that academic advisors are crucial in each student's life as they are responsible for assigning them to classes, departments, faculties and other learning tools. Academic advisors acquire digital technical skills to help in the procession of online tasks such as enrollments and course booking.
3. Executive Director
Private educational institutions are not under the governance of school administrators. They are run by executive directors who handle more than the public school principal. Their primary role is to marry the school's entire community consisting of the staff, students, parents and additional workforce. They ensure that all staff and students receive equal treatment according to the legal procedures and policies of the school. These professionals act as ambassadors to other schools, the district and the nation's Department of Education. Executive directors develop a keen understanding of the Common Core State Standards to develop the school's curriculum and teaching programs.
4. Dean of Students
Students in all faculties are familiar with this school leader. The dean of students oversees the daily activities by the students and has authority over several school administrators. Their concern for students extends beyond academic works and covers all the facets of schooling. The dean is an agent for students looking to communicate concerns to the higher administrators of the school. The administrators also address their issues to the student body via the dean. A campus dean of students is the equivalent of an assistant principal in regards to the involvement with students since they have the closest dealings with the school's daily routines.
5. Department Chair
These professionals offer extra guidance alongside the instructional coordinator. They help in analyzing the performance of the various entities of the school to provide feasible solutions to the existing curriculum. It is an ideal post for a candidate with a rich educational background such as a teacher and a leadership qualification. Applicants are often taken through detailed training to understand the specific requirements of the school. The chair handles particular tasks such as teaching styles, classroom schedules and subject distribution on the timetable. The department chair has the main focus on the teaching professionals of the school to ultimately impact the students' performance.
Related Resource: What is a Master's in Educational Leadership Degree?
There are plenty of online portals offering educational leadership training courses. The need for educational leaders is on the rise with more schools looking for qualified professionals to adjust the policies and progress the school's overall performance. Pursuing a study in the field will cast one above other applicants with standard certifications looking to advance to the top careers in educational leadership.