| Author | Topic |
|---|
Posts: 1
Registered:
February 2004
|
|
I need help with interview questions!
|
Sat, 07 February 2004 16:36
|
 |
Hi everybody
This is my first post, so please excuse me if this has been discussed to death already. I am about ready to start interviewing for my first principalship position (I graduate in May). What are some questions that I can expect to be asked and what questions should I be asking them? Are there any other hint/tricks for me to be equiped with?
Thanks a ton!
Steve
|
|
|
Posts: 8
Registered:
January 2004
|
|
|
Posts: 1
Registered:
February 2004
|
|
Re: I need help with interview questions!
|
Sun, 22 February 2004 17:51
|
|
Steve,
Here are some questions I was asked on my interview (by the way I got the job!):
Describe your teaching experiences and your involvement with teachers
What are your career goals and timelines?
Just finishing up your degree, do you see this position as just a jumping-off point or would you be satisfied in sticking with it for a while?
After reading the job description, why are you interested in this job?
If you had an ideal situation, how would you like to divide your time in a position like this one? What do you feel are the priorities of this position?
How would you develop a good relationship with the staff?
How would you develop a supervisory relationship with a teacher who has 25 years of experience and sees you as having relatively little experience?
Describe your administrative style. Do you feel you are more authoritarian or laissez-faire?
How flexible are you in enforcing policies and rules? How much do you stick by the rules?
What do you feel your relationship should be like with the superintendent? With the board?
How would you handle a decision made from higher up that was against your personal/professional philosophy?
What role do you feel parents should play in education, and how would you develop that?
How would you handle criticisms made to the board about a teacher under your supervision?
How well do you accept criticism? Failure? Defeat?
What model(s) of teacher supervision and evaluation would you follow?
What is your philosophy surrounding student discipline?
What would your response be to racial confrontations?
How do you feel about living in this district?
|
|
|
Posts: 239
Registered:
March 2004
|
|
Re: I need help with interview questions!
|
Mon, 08 March 2004 13:01
|
|
Hello, here are a few key questions that you might expect to be asked during an interview. I have included some other suggestions at the end which you might also find useful:
As a teacher, what was a difficult situation that either you or a colleague had with a principal, and how was it handled? Would you have handled it differently if you were the principal?
What is your vision for improving the performance of your school and what strategies do you think will help you achieve those goals?
What do you believe are some effective ways to get parents of poor-performing students more involved in their children’s education?
Given the magnitude of behavior problems that many schools face, what strategies would you implement to address the problem?
Give an example of your greatest weakness and what you have done to correct it?
What is your professional development plan for teachers and other staff in your school?
What strengths will you bring to the job that will make you the best choice for the job over other applicants?
More suggestions...
If you haven't already, you should do as much research as you can on the school where you will be working. If you are not applying for a principleship at a particular school, research the school district. You should be looking up information about dropout rates, performance on standardized tests, student improvement from the previous year (and the year before that), turn-over rate for teachers, problem with crime among students and/or other disciplinary issues. These kinds of questions are likely to be asked of you during the interview. It would be wonderful if you can respond with some knowledge about what is actually going on rather than just in general terms. It also looks good when they ask you whether you have questions. To ask about specific things going on in a school or throughout the district is certain to make you shine.
The information above is availble from the previous school year and should be easy to find. It is likely on the school system's website but if not, just contact the State Education Agency and they can provide it for you. That information becomes public information and they won't have a problem sharing it with you.
Good Luck!
Will
|
|
|
Posts: 1
Registered:
March 2004
|
|
|
Posts: 1
Registered:
June 2004
|
|
|
Re: I need help with interview questions!
