The chronology of ideas and events that nurtured the development of field-based experience to train educational leaders is presented. The philosophical and intellectual foundations upon which field experience is based are identified. Field-based experience is a supervised on-the-job learning approach that is conducted in such ways as internships, externships, on-the-job training, and clinical experience. The formal use of field-based programs to train educational leaders, which began in 1933 at the University of Chicago, is widely used as an academic means of complementing classroom training. The early period from 1947 to 1959 is discussed, noting that the two events that triggered the wide acceptance of such programs were the organization of the National Conference of Professors of Educational Administration in 1947 and the role played by the Cooperative Program in Educational Administration in 1950. The second phase of development was the decade of the 1960s, in which universities and colleges seemed ready to fully integrate such programs. In the 1980s, the University Council for Educational Administration Center on Field Relations in Educational Administration Training Programs was established to review the status of field-based programs and describe activities. The value of field-based learning is now readily recognized. Lessons from the past suggest: the support of a professsional association is necessary to promote the development of field-based programs; the joint responsibility of a university and field agency is necessary; comprehensive planning is required; and research on on-going programs must continue. Contains 24 references. (SM)