Partial results are reported from a longitudinal study that investigated role learning among teachers seeking and obtaining principalships or assistant principalships. Data were obtained from indepth interviews with 14 administrative candidates. A brief theoretical discussion classifies new administrators' job behavior according to three responses to organizational socialization and defines six binary variables that describe socializing aspects of administrator selection, hiring, and training. Findings are then discussed, beginning with those for the six socialization variables and their relationships to the three responses. The passages that follow, interspersed with quotes from interviews, briefly describe candidates' perspectives on their own situations. Novice administrators' reflections on their transition to the administrative work-world are related, and influences on the development of an "administrative perspective" are analyzed. A discussion of variables related to the development of an administrative perspective and a set of theoretical propositions conclude the paper. A bibliography is included. (MCG)