Explores departmental-policy implementation challenges faced by Australian principals of one-teacher schools during a time of unprecedented structural and organizational change, highlighting international contextual influences on the nation's public sector. Over a five-year period, senior management's relationship to principals implementing policy…

A 5-year study of one-teacher schools was conducted by a single researcher in the remote North West Region of New South Wales, Australia. A personal narrative discusses problems of longitudinal research, peculiarities of gathering data in the chosen region, the close relationship of these isolated schools and their communities, and problems and…

Staff interviews addressed the changing roles and relationships between principals of one-teacher schools and administrators of the North West Region of the New South Wales Department of School Education. Over a five-year period, the approaches employed by administrators to implement departmental policy changes altered significantly and resulted…