Higher education institutions have an important role in changing societies; those in developing countries present an ample spectrum of differences, particularities, and needs. The role that senior administrators play as managers of those institutions is fundamental in the decision making process; consequently, it is very important that those administrators possess the needed attributes during the development of their endeavors. The purpose of this study is to identify the competencies needed by senior administrators in higher education institutions in Mexico, as current administrators project them. The naturalistic paradigm of inquiry was used to frame the study and acquire and analyze data. The sample consisted of twenty senior administrators from eight Mexican higher education institutions. The researcher visited those campuses on three trips between June 2001 and March 2002. Data came from three sources: interviews with respondents; observation of participants before, during, and after the interview sessions; and analysis of records and documents. Data from interviews were unitized and sorted into categories. Some of the conclusions of the researcher included: •Social forces and trends inside and outside of Mexican higher education institutions are pushing the need for a senior administrator with a broad understanding of the national situation, with the resources to support the national initiatives, and with the ability to make appropriate responses in their own institutions. •Identified needed competencies for the future higher education senior administrator are organized by personal characteristics and skills, administrative competencies, competencies of social responsibility, and institutional competencies. •Public university leaders believe that they face more difficult situations in their institutions that their private institution counterparts in order to adapt and change. •Differences between and within public and private higher education institutions in Mexico make evident the need for specific training for their senior administrators to achieve professional development necessary to the specific needs of their institutions.

Over the years, the academic dean position has evolved from mainly focusing on student matters to an emphasis on promoting quality teaching and academic programs. The dean’s role is comprised of academic and administrative duties and responsibilities, requiring working with various stakeholders. The complexities associated with reduced budgets, increased enrollment demands, guarantee of quality education, and expectations from the private and public sectors create a perennial need for strong, competent leaders. Attributes for those in the dean’s position have been described as being able to keep peace among various groups with competing priorities. Other abilities address the many internal and external pressures confronting the position, and the need to motivate, plan, and establish a shared vision for the college. Research has found academic deans traditionally advance from faculty to administration with few opportunities to train for the administrative leadership aspect, having trained and oriented predominately for academic careers in scholarship and teaching. In the absence of administrative training, academic deans have found they lack the breadth and depth of administrative leadership practices. This research study examined the essential administrative competencies and preferred professional development method for academic deans responsible for discipline-specific colleges within the California State University (CSU) system. The study employed a mixed methods research design for the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The findings from the surveys and interviews revealed significant results for identifying essential administrative competencies, and preferred professional development methods for effective academic deans. A common theme that emerged was that their prior academic training and experience did not provide a significant amount of transferable skills. Interview results described serving on committees, working with mentors, training with immediate supervisors, and attending professional development programs as the methods selected for administrative development. Survey results identified hands-on experience, and attending seminars as the most preferred professional development methods for the majority of administrative competencies.

The problem of this study was the needed administrative competencies of administrators in teacher training colleges in Kenya as perceived by administrators and faculty. A questionnaire (Inventory of Administrative Competencies) was mailed to principals, vice-principals, and four faculty members selected at random from sixteen teacher training colleges in Kenya. Ninety-six questionnaires were returned, yielding a return rate of 100 percent. Responses were analyzed using t-tests and one-way analyses of variance utilizing the F-test of the statistical test. A series of post hoc comparisons was made using Duncan's New Multiple Range Test to locate significant differences. Based on the analysis of data, it was concluded that both administrators and faculty considered the desired status of the competency very high. The administrators were performing below the desired status. Size of college was the major factor for the differences in perceptions of the respondents. Years of experience and educational background had little or no effect on the respondents' responses to the questionnaire. The following recommendations were made: A future study should investigate the perceived desired status and present performance ratings assigned to a validated set of competency statements of those levels of administrative activities not included in this study. Such a study would involve school inspectors, provincial education officers, deans of students, and heads of departments. A study should be made to investigate the current methods of evaluating administrative competence in teacher training colleges in Kenya. The results of this study should be analyzed by the Ministry of Education teacher college program developers responsible for conducting administrative workshops or in—service training in Kenya. This study could provide developers with additional information for improving the adequacy and relevance of both pre—service and in-service programs for practicing administrators.