The correlation between Texas administrators' backgrounds and their perspectives of school finances

Fiscal aspects of an administrator's job have created demand for more financial skills, however the issue concerns a disconnect between the financial background administrators typically possess and their ability to address school-related pecuniary issues (Owings & Kaplan, 2004; Sorenson & Goldsmith, 2013; Waggoner, 2005). The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between Texas school administrators' background factors of level of education, college financial courses taken, current administrative assignment, school size, district type, and their perspectives on the importance of financial training. Texas public school principals and superintendents were surveyed to determine the answer to the main research question: How does level of education, number of financial courses taken in college, current position, school size, and district type influence administrator perspectives on the importance of financial training? A survey research design was used to carry out the study. Findings included that administrators thought, irrespective of their backgrounds, that school finances were major issues that administrators face, educator preparation programs did not prepare them well enough for their fiscal responsibilities, and that more financial training would be beneficial. The results are significant for principals and superintendents, as well as for those in charge of administration educator preparation programs.