6005 Westview Dr. | Houston, Texas | 77055-5419 | 713-696-0700 | 1-866-696-4233

Adult Education Administrator's Manual

Professional Development

---

Quality management must precede quality instruction. Leaders and managers in adult education face infinite challenges, which include:

• securing and allocating resources to address competing priorities;

• developing and promoting the organization’s mission, goals, and objectives;

• making increasingly complex technology accessible;

• meeting the needs of diverse student population;

• employing and supervising an ever-changing instructional staff;

• initiating and advocating for changes that promote program improvement;

• advocating for the field of adult education;

• responding to the changing demands for program accountability;

• encouraging problem solving and team building among staff; and

• collaborating with other agencies to provide comprehensive delivery of services.

In addition, adult education administrators often rise from the teacher ranks and are not likely to have received training on administration and management principles.

As educators, program administrators face the challenges of maintaining up-to-date knowledge of research on adult learning instructional strategies, learner assessment and curriculum design; demonstrating a commitment to life-long learning; and, encouraging and supporting staff participation in professional development. Meeting these challenges requires a wide range of competencies.

All program administrators may not have all the requisite competencies, nor would every program expect proficiency on all possible skills that an administrator may need. Each administrator, however, possesses unique strengths and can build on those strengths while he or she strengthens his or her competencies in other areas through career experiences and carefully crafted professional development. To that end, Texas LEARNS will work with the GREAT Centers and adult education administrators in Texas to develop training opportunities designed to meet the unique needs of administrators and other supervisors. This training will include but not be limited to training in:

• Leadership Models,
• Program Management,
• Budgeting,
• Legal Issues,
• Conflict Management,
• Theories of Adult Learning,

---

Previous | Table August 29, 2007credential.htm" title="Go to the nex page.">Next