Strategies for improving the recruitment and selection of educational administrators are presented in this report. A recommendation is made for the development of administrator preparation programs based on collaboration between local education agencies, higher education institutions, the individual, and the educational administration (EA) profession itself. The elements of preparation should include clinical experience, formation of a training and hiring plan, development of student assessment criteria, expansion of the training function, and encouragement of continuing professional development. Program goals focus on practice as a source of a knowledge base for practitioners: "grounded" theory and programs that employ "situated cognition"; and expansion of delivery to include such things as problem-based learning, problem-finding, reflective practice, and education platforms. A conclusion is that recognition of the role of practice in both recruitment/selection and the content/process of instruction will engender the utilization of a practice-to-theory model. This shift will parallel the logical move in EA from a near total reliance on the quantitative research paradigm to a mixed quantitative/qualitative model that more nearly fits the practice of EA. One figure is included. (22 references) (LMI)