Computers in 2001: Preparing educational administrators

Conclusions

These findings are important to educational leaders, especially those in higher education, who are responsible for allocating resources for microcomputers. Recommendations for the selection of appropriate hardware can be derived from this analysis of current computer use and of expected changes.

That computer facilities need upgrading in the next decade is clear. The purchase of new Macintosh and MS-DOS microcomputers would fit the needs of a majority of educational administration students. Of the program coordinators and professors with computer expertise who responded to the survey, 43 percent believe that their graduate students are gaining more access to computers in places other than the university. College of Education computer laboratories should be more open to students in educational leadership programs, and these programs should make the availability of appropriate hardware and software a priority. Understanding the extent to which educational administration programs train their students in computer use is of paramount importance in assessing curriculum development and its concomitant hardware demands.