This paper presents representative aspects of the preparation of educational administrators in South America, using information collected from a series of documents presented in 1977 at an Organization of American States conference. The situation in each of 10 South American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela) is briefly covered. The author concludes that the problem of the preparation of educational administrators in the majority of these republics has become a priority for government authorities in recent years. The South American ministries of education are (singly or in agreement with international agencies) announcing guiding principles for formation and training policies. Even so, no country has yet established a permanent and well-defined system for the preparation of educational administrators. Based on experimentation and empirical inspiration, courses for the training of educational administrators are being established in all South American countries. The make-up of curricula varies from country to country. (Author/JM)