A Delphi Study of the Most Desirable Qualifications for Selecting Entry-Level School Site Administrators with no Prior Administrative Experience

Purpose: The purpose of this policy Delphi study was to identify the qualifications expert K-12 Human Resources administrators identify as most important when selecting a candidate with no prior administrative experience for an entry-level administrative position. It was also the purpose to have the experts rate the importance of the identified qualifications and have the experts describe what they look for in the top-rated identified qualifications. Methodology: The research design used a Delphi approach allowing data collection from a panel of experts. The Delphi study collected qualitative and quantitative data during various rounds of electronic surveys. The electronic surveys consisted of open-ended questions in Round 1 and Round 3, while Round 2 was a Likert scale rating which returned quantitative data from the expert panel. Findings: The initial round returned 26 desirable qualifications to be rated in round 2. The top four qualifications resulted in a tie for first and a tie for third. The four top-rated qualifications returned a total of eleven findings. Conclusions: The study had three major conclusions. The first was associated with the imperative need to be able to build relationships by leveraging interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and effective communication. The second conclusion revolved around ensuring an accurate way to measurable or evaluate a desirable qualification. The final conclusion targeted a candidate\u27s need to intrinsically desire to serve others. Recommendations: Eight total recommendations for future research are provided to further advance the body of literature and collective knowledge around the hiring of inexperienced entry-level school administrators