The papers in this special issue of the Caribbean Journal of Education represent the major papers delivered at a symposium held in Barbados in 1985. This symposium, entitled The Professional Preparation and Develop­ment of Educational Administrators in Developing Areas, was a joint ven­ture of the Caribbean Society of Educational Administrators (CARSEA, BARBADOS), the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration (CCEA) and the Faculty of Education of the Cave Hill Campus of the Univer­sity of the West Indies.