Curriculum administrator to secondary school department head
A curriculum administrator already meets 25% of what the secondary school department head role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
76.1/ 100
1 How much of what a secondary school department head is expected to do is already part of a curriculum administrator’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the secondary school department head role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secondary school department head role treats 6 of its required skills as things a curriculum administrator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on teaching methods
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum standards
- learning technologies
- present reports
- provide feedback to teachers
What stands in the way is 16 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secondary school department head role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a curriculum administrator background worth leading with.
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held learning technologies education
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held curriculum standards education
- already held evaluate education programmes information skills
- already held advise on lesson plans communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 6 the secondary school department head role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 34 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manage secondary school department required
- still to learn assess the development of youth required
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn provide education management support required
- still to learn assess employees' capability levels required
- still to learn assist in the organisation of school events required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- optional, not held develop organisational policies optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn instructional strategies required
- still to learn assessment processes required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
- still to learn liaise with educational staff required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held promote education programmes optional
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held funding methods optional
- still to learn lead inspections required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- still to learn guarantee students' safety required
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secondary school department head role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage secondary school department practise this
- 02 assess the development of youth practise this
- 03 identify process improvements practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held learning technologies knowledge
- already held present reports skill
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held advise on lesson plans skill
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- optional, not held develop organisational policies optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held funding methods optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held promote education programmes optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
18 held skills the secondary school department head role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on curriculum development skill
- not needed by the target role advise on legislative acts skill
- not needed by the target role analyse curriculum skill
- not needed by the target role analyse the training market skill
- not needed by the target role budgetary principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop a pedagogical concept skill
- not needed by the target role develop e-learning plan skill
- not needed by the target role develop learning curriculum skill
- not needed by the target role e-learning knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with policies skill
- not needed by the target role ensure curriculum adherence skill
- not needed by the target role establish educational network skill
- not needed by the target role implement strategic planning skill
- not needed by the target role inspect education institutions skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationships with government agencies skill
- not needed by the target role monitor curriculum implementation skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role special needs education knowledge
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn instructional strategies required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn assessment processes required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held funding methods optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
Other moves recorded from curriculum administrator
Common questions about this move
Can a curriculum administrator become a secondary school department head?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A curriculum administrator already covers 25% of what a secondary school department head is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 6 of which the secondary school department head role treats as required.
What skills does a curriculum administrator need to become a secondary school department head?
16 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage secondary school department.
How hard is the move from curriculum administrator to secondary school department head?
Its learning distance is 76.1 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.