This article provides an Australian perspective on successful school leadership that focuses on nine case studies from the state of Victoria. The study shows the significant contributions principals make to schools, particularly in the areas of capacity building, and teaching and learning. Characteristics and qualities of the principals identified showed a common and consistent set of personal traits, behaviours, values and beliefs such as honesty, openness, flexibility, commitment, passion, empathy with others, belief that all children are important and can succeed, belief that schools can make a difference, high expectations of all, and highly developed communication skills. An intervention based model of successful school leadership is outlined that describes interventions that can impact upon student outcomes in the areas of teaching and learning, school capacity building and other influences
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Baker, W. (1992). The network organization in theory and practice. In N. Nohria & R. G. Eccles (Eds.), Networks and organizations (pp. 397–429). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Stoll, L., Thomas, S., & Wallace, M. (2005). Creating and sustaining effective professional learning communities. Research Report RR637, Bristol, UK: University of Bristol.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research in sociology of education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood Press.
Chaskin, R. J. (2001). Building community capacity: A definitional framework and case studies from a comprehensive community initiative. Urban Affairs Review, 36(3), 291–323.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120.
Crowther, F. (2001). Teachers as leaders: A conceptual framework. Report to the Australian Research Council. Toowoomba: University of Southern Queensland.
Crowther, F., Kaagan, S. S., Ferguson, M., & Hann, L. (2002). Developing teacher leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Day, C., Harris, A., Hadfield, M., Tolley, H., & Beresford, J. (2000). Leading schools in times of change.Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Department of Education and Training. (2003). Blueprint for government schools.Melbourne: Department of Education and Training.
Di Natale, E. (2006). What are the qualities, skills and leadership styles adopted by a successful school principal in a successful Victorian specialist school. Unpublished Master of Education thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Doherty, J. (undated). Successful leadership in an independent school in Victoria, Australia. Unpublished Doctor of Education thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Drysdale, L. (2001). Getting the most out of marketing for schools, ACEA Monograph. No. 29, Supplement to The Practising Administrator, 23(4).
Drysdale, L. (2002). A study of marketing and market orientation in selected Victorian schools of the future. Unpublished Doctor of Education thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Drysdale, L., & Goode, H. (2004). Successful school leadership project, school D case study, Victoria, Australia. Unpublished research report, The University of Melbourne.
Ford, P. (undated). Successful leadership of successful Catholic primary schools in the archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia. Unpublished Doctor of Education thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Grönroos, C. (1994). From marketing mix to relationship marketing: Towards a paradigm shift in marketing. Management Decision, 32(2), 4–20.
Gurr, D., Drysdale, L., Di Natale, E., Ford, P., Hardy, R., & Swann, R. (2003). Successful school leadership in Victoria: Three case studies. Leading and Managing, 9(1), 18–37.
Gurr, D., Drysdale, L., & Mulford, B. (2005) Successful principal leadership: Australian case studies. Journal of Educational Administration, 43(6), 539–551.
Hardy, R. (2006). Successful leaders in successful schools: A case study of a government primary school principal in Victoria, Australia. Unpublished Master of Education thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Harris, A., & Muijs, D. (2005). Improving schools through teacher leadership. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
Hord, S. M. (1997). Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
Hoy, W. (2003). An analysis of enabling and mindful school structures: Some theoretical, research and practical considerations. Journal of Educational Administration, 41(1), 87–109.
Hill, P. W. (2002). What all principals should know about teaching and learning. In M. S. Tucker & J. B. Codding (Eds.), The principal challenge (pp. 43–75). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hopkins, D. (2001). School improvement for real. London: Routledge Falmer.
Hopkins, D., & Harris, A. (2000). Introduction to special feature: Alternative perspectives on school improvement. School Leadership and Management, 20(1), 9–14.
Karvouni, A. (2005). Successful school leadership in Victoria: A case study of the principal of a government secondary school. Unpublished Master of Education thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (2005). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 83(7–8), 162–171.
King, M. B., & Newmann, F. M. (2001). Building school capacity through professional development: conceptual and empirical considerations. The International Journal of Educational Management, 15(2), 86–94.
Knowles, S. M. (1986). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
Giles, C., Johnson, L., Brooks, S., & Jacobson, S. (2005) Building bridges, building community: transformational leadership in a challenging Urban context. Journal of School Leadership, 15(5), 519–545.
Leithwood, K., & Riehl, C. (2005). What do we already know about successful school leadership? In W. Firestone & C. Riehl (Eds.), A new agenda: Directions for research on educational leadership (pp.22–47). New York: Teachers College Press.
Leithwood, K., & Steinbach, R. (2003). Successful leadership for especially challenging schools. In B. Davies & J. West-Burnham (Eds.), Handbook of educational leadership and management. London: Pearson Education.
Mitchell, C., & Sackney, L. (2001). Profound improvement: Building capacity for a learning community. Journal of Educational Administration, 39(4), 394–398.
Newmann, F. M. (1996). Authentic achievement: Restructuring schools for intellectual quality.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Newmann, F. M., & Wehlage, G. G. (1995). Successful school restructuring: A report to the public and educators by the center on organization and restructuring of schools. Madison, WI: CORS.
Newmann, F., King, B., & Youngs, P. (2000). Professional development that addresses school capacity. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.
Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Putman, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organisation. New York: Doubleday.
Stoll, L., Fink, D., & Earl, L. (2003). It’s about learning (and it’s about time).London: Routledge Falmer.
Toole, J. C., & Louis, K. S. (2002). The role of professional learning communities in international education. In K. Leithwood & P. Hallinger (Eds.), Second international handbook of educational leadership and administration. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
Watson, N., & Fullan, M. (1992). Beyond school district-university partnerships. In M. Fullan & A. Hargreaves (Eds.), Teacher development and educational change (pp. 213–242). London: Falmer Press.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Yep, M. (2005). Principal and teacher perceptions of shared leadership. Unpublished Doctor of Education thesis, The University of Melbourne.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gurr, D., Drysdale, L. (2007). Models of Successful Principal Leadership: Victorian Case Studies. In: Day, C., Leithwood, K. (eds) Successful Principal Leadership In Times Of Change. Studies In Educational Leadership, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5516-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5516-1_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5515-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5516-4
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)