Abstract
Purpose. This study sought to identify the management needs of administrators in American Sponsored Overseas Schools and to compare the results with the findings from an earlier study accomplished with administrators in Los Angeles County. A focus of the study was to identify existing special management needs for these overseas administrators. Methodology. A survey was disseminated to 162 administrators overseas. It consisted of similar items that had been completed by seventy-nine administrators in Los Angeles County. For the overseas group, variables of age, sex, knowledge of language and culture of the host country and student, faculty, and board turnover were used in the comparison of management needs outcomes. Statistical treatments of t-Tests and Analysis of Variance were utilized to determine differences and a Pearson Product Moment Correlation test was used to determine relationships. Special management needs were identified through an open-ended portion of the survey. Conclusions. Overseas administrators share many of the same management needs as their counterparts in the United States. While such variables as age, sex, proficiency, and turnover are important, they have little impact on the management needs of administrators overseas. These administrators have identified special management needs because of their overseas situation. Recommendations. Major recommendations from this study are: (1) Administrators overseas should utilize the resources available in the United States to keep abreast of current management theory and practice, (2) Training organizations affiliated with these overseas schools should utilize the findings in this study for a foundation for future training programs, (3) Special attention needs to be given to provide for training in school finance for these administrators, and (4) Future research should be directed to (a) comparing similarities and differences between overseas and stateside boards of education, and (b) analyzing turnover of students, faculty, and board after the first year overseas.