In Israel, more than 25 percent of the schoolteachers and educators working in the State Educational System were over 50 years old in 2003 (Israeli Bureau of Statistics, 2004), a trend common to many western countries. Current research on careers in educational administration, however, has tended hitherto to ignore career issues and experiences of school principals at late-career stage, the period usually ranging from around 55 to 70 years of age.

The study aimed at providing insight into the career experiences and issues of late career Israeli principals. Based on life-story interviews with twelve elementary and secondary school principals during the years 2004-2005, two initial conclusions emerged. First, while the accounts of principals aged around 55-56 were not embedded with issues such as retirement, burnout and fear of decline in performance, principals around 60 years of age and over could define their recent years at work as a different period. When asked to divide their managerial career into identifiable periods, they usually emphasized three periods – the first years, the middle and the last few years which are characterized by thoughts about life, career and retirement.
 
Second, positive and negative meanings are attached to late career by the principals. It is a time of potential frustration, burnout, conservative attitude and negative attitude towards the present (as opposed to the glorious past), but concurrently it is also a time of enchantment and energy, emotional commitment towards students, a sense of expertise, and change initiation and implementation.

Some implications for educational policy, such as the need of in-service trainings for this particular groups, and suggestions for further research are included in the paper.