Interview Material

School Principal Interview Questions & Tips

The importance given to education these days have started to rise. Especially after technology boom more and more options have come in the education stream to learn be friendlier to the technology adapted. Whether a low cost school or a private school, the teaching methodology is same. The interview questions for educators these days would involve a lot of behavioral scenarios and psychology to check their understanding on today’s children.
Before you are all set to attend an interview here are some tips to make the interview a success.
Present your best credentials
Your presentation of the credentials that you have for the job you are applying speaks well in the interview. Depending on universities, schools and colleges the education preference for a principal or an administrator changes, so check them before you apply.
Interview
You would be the right person for the job but take it slowly and achieve the best. The job search can be long but it’s worth the wait so do your best in the interview and have a smiling face. Teaching is a very good profession and this profession needs you to smile and take a deep breath and also get ready for the actual.
Also there are few interview questions for a school administrator or the principal of the school.

• Opening questions
  • Few words about you
  • Why do you want to become the principal?
  • Do you feel that the motto of the school fit to your philosophy?
  • As a principal of the school, what do you think is the most important task?

• Your skills in school
  • Share your greatest contributions as a teacher in your past experience
  • What kind of critical issues you see in a school and how will you solve it?
  • Discuss how important is athletics, art and academics to a student.

• Your skills in administration
  • How efficient are you with computers and other new technologies?
  • Do you have a sound knowledge in accountancy and budgeting?
  • How are your PR skills and have you had experiences in the past?
  • Do you have experience in raising funds?

• Dealing with students
  • Should a Principal be a good friend to a student?
  • How would you help a student in developing his character?
  • Share with us few of your experiences in the past relating to behavioral issues.

• With Faculty
  • Can you manage and plan the teacher’s work?
  • How would you score a teacher and what grade can you grant yourself as a teacher?
  • When you have to take important decisions, do you consult with the teachers?

• With Parents
  • How would you deal a trouble child and explain to his parents?
  • A parent being a primary educator, what is his or her role?
  • Do you have any past experiences with parental issues?

 These are the questions which a Principal of a school normally has to be prepared for.

A Few Tips:

• Be early.
   
• When you enter the room, move to and greet each member of the interview committee.
   
• Think before you answer a question. And confine your response to the question asked. Be succinct and thorough.
   
• When answering a question, look at all members of the interview committee, not just the person who asked the question.
  
• Prepare a short series of questions that pertain to the interests of each person on the committee.
   
• Be sure to thank the committee for the time and opportunity to interview.
   
• Prepare a brief summary statement that emphasizes how you plan to work collaboratively with teachers and parents to improve the school. 

Classroom management, discipline, behavioral management, contacting parents and above all your teaching methods are parts of the teacher interview questions.
As a candidate preparing for a teaching interview, you would probably do your best answering naturally and confidently with your teaching knowledge and experience.
How would you handle this upcoming interview?
This article suggests answers for the most common questions asked during a teacher’s interview.

Four Initial Tips for the Teacher Interview

1. Be prepared to explain your teaching profile and everything that is related to your education, background experience and teaching philosophies.
2. Speak clearly about your teaching beliefs.
3. Prepare and review your answers to these frequently asked teacher interview questions.
4. As it is easy for an interviewer to recognize an unprepared candidate by reading his body language, practice answering the basic questions a few times before the interview.

Sample Teacher Interview Questions and Answers

Here are suggested answers to teacher interview questions sample as follows:

► Discipline

• Questions about classroom discipline and the way you establish your authority.
• How do you handle a discipline problem? What about noise in the classroom?
• Are you a “tough” teacher or an “understanding” teacher?
• How do you handle a gifted child who is a discipline problem?

Answer:
By having a set of classroom rules and consistently following your own guidelines – a clear set of behavioral expectations with clear consequences – you have a good chance of controlling the class. Give examples of rules and consequences. Simultaneously, present yourself as a good listener and adapter, flexible to individual students’ needs. If possible, give an example of where you had to work around your rule for a difficult student.

► Working with Parents

• Give an example of a difficult phone call to a parent.
• How do you handle parent complaints about teaching methods?
• How often do you report to parents? What is your communication method with parents?

Answer:
Your goal is to work in the child’s best interest, together with the parents. In general, you report as often as required and welcome parents’ contribution. Complaints and problems that have not been resolved are addressed to the school principal if necessary. Communication can be any possible way – text, email, phone or a note home. When parents object to teaching method, it is best to have a principal explain and defend the teacher. Parents are not usually as knowledgeable as they think.
If a child is caught cheating or continuously disturbs, this would be a difficult call to make. I would first look over all the child’s work and make a list of his/her good qualities and accomplishments. After reporting that pleasantness, I would factually describe the problem, making sure not to exaggerate. End with another nice comment, and listen to parents.  Next I would try to work out a plan with them, or interest them in the plan I worked out. Close with a nice comment about how easy it was to speak with them, or some such compliment and wish them well.

► Teaching methods

• Questions about homework (overload).
• The way you evaluate your teaching performance and teaching needs. How do you use resources?
• Your teaching tools and methods, namely – the Internet, team-teaching and external resources.
• How do you handle the needs of children with high abilities as compared to the needs of low-skilled children?
• How do you meet the needs of children with ADHD?
• What are your teaching objectives?
• How do you provide feedback?

Answer:
You should explain the cutting edge teaching principles you utilize to meet your teaching goals and objectives for enhancing students’ skills such as – reading, social skills, technical skills etc. prepare and rehearse your remarks. Speak professionally.

► Social problems

• How do you handle a case of a child who is socially isolated?

Answer:
I feel I must play an important role in the child’s development of social competence and friendship skills. I will do my best to help these children develop peer friendships. My responsibilities involve not only imparting academic skills but social skills as well. Some methods are setting up study-buddies, team projects, etc.

► General

• Why did you choose a teaching career?
• Why are you interested in working for our school?

Answer: prepare a brief explanation. Focus on love of children, desire to give, enthusiasm for learning, and whatever motivated you.
These are general interview questions asked to a teacher with their answers.