The Illinois Director's Study was commissioned by the Department of Children and Family Services to provide comprehensive data on directors of licensed, center-based early childhood programs in the state. Addressed were the following questions: (1) What is the current level of education, training, and experience of center directors in Illinois? (2) How do directors rate the importance of specific tasks associated with their administrative role? (3) How do director's ratings compare with those of experts in early childhood education? (4) What skills and competencies do center directors feel should be minimum requirements for the position? (5) How do directors' assessments of minimum requirements compare with those of experts and with state licensing standards? (6) What is the relationship between directors' education, training, and experience and their perceived competence in performing tasks associated with their role? (7) In what knowledge and skill areas do directors feel they need additional training? (8) What is the relationship between directors' education, specialized training, and experience and indices of program quality? This report provides background information on 990 directors and summarizes results of field observations of 103 programs. It also offers policy recommendations regarding the efficacy of modifying licensing standards. Extensive references are supplied and several survey instruments are appended. (RH)