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[Anonymous]

My search for a faculty position in the field of educational administration, has been frustrating, to say the least. 

I attend a state university (because I put my wife's job first and wanted to be close to family) and I am nearing completion of my Ph.D. in educational administration. I want to work as a faculty member and researcher in the field, but because my university is known for producing practitioners, Research I universities won't seriously consider my candidacy. It's been a source of constant frustration for me that one must successfully graduate from a Research I institution in order to land a job at a Research I institution.

They aren't interested in your professional experience as a principal or superintendent or central-office administrator; they want to know how successful you've been at publishing and presenting at the national level and if you were able to secure external funding or worked on a grant with your adviser. If you have professional experience, it's important that you downplay it because serious scholars don't spend large periods of their professional lives as practitioners. 

I never would have chosen to attend a smaller university if I'd known that it would hinder my chances of becoming a faculty member in a larger university.

I probably could have attended a larger program at a Research I university, if my personal situation had permitted it. That would have fit nicely with my goal of becoming a faculty member at a research university. However, it's too late now.

I have lots of teaching experience, I have worked in curriculum development, I've overseen professional-development funds, I've sat on countless committees, and I've had formal leadership positions as an undergraduate and graduate student. But, ironically, because I lack real-world experience in schools or school districts, the smaller, practioner-oriented institutions (like my own institution) that I've applied to won't seriously consider me. And I don't have the Research I name behind me that would get me an automatic look and a toss into the "A" pile of applications during searches at larger institutions.

To make matters worse, my adviser and the other faculty members in my department do not have the time or inclination to help me beef up my record of presentions and my slim record of publications (I have one article pending). They are well-meaning and wonderful individuals, but they're focused on producing Ph.D. and Ed.D. graduates who will serve, not as faculty members focused on research, but as employees in state school systems.

[Anon Again]

Well, if Research I is your goal, get a postdoctoral fellowship at a Research I university (that is, if postdocs are offered in your field). If you need to reinvent yourself, a postdoctoral stint is one of two ways in which to do so. The other way is to try to build up your publications in the face of the lackluster support and interest your current institution shows.

[Anon]

It's not particularly surprising that a university such as yours would not hire you. People who teach educational administration should have significant experience as an educational administrator. What is surprising and disappointing is that none of your faculty members pointed this out to you. I would have thought that someone would have noticed that you've never worked as an administrator, but want to teach people how to be administrators.

So, what can you do now? Have you thought about getting yourself a job as a public-school administrator? Even just a few years of experience should make your CV look much better. Combined with articles published along the way, that should get you closer to your goal.

As to working at a Research I university, elitism is hard to overcome. At this point, I don't think it's possible unless your publishing record becomes so extraordinary as to compensate for your not attending the "right" kind of university.