The higher education (HE) landscape continues to grow in complexity; thus, there is a need to improve the understanding of leadership in this context. This action research (AR) study was undertaken in a multi-disciplinary context of an Australian university to develop and evaluate an action learning (AL) project promoting leadership practice. An…

This paper reports on Australian case study research in schools where principals completed the Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) program. The purpose was to gather data about the effects of PALL on principals' leadership and the impact of interventions in Reading on teaching, student learning, and achievement. Data gathering included…

In this paper we review current practices for developing and promoting academic leadership in universities. We consider the forms of leadership that are appropriate for academic organisations, while exploring the types of leadership favoured by recruitment and promotion committees. Using the Australian higher education context as a case study, we…

Purpose: Many organisations are reconsidering their investment in formal education and training, in favour of more informal approaches to learning such as mentoring, temporary assignments, stretch assignments, and job rotation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which managers have developed capabilities for their roles thus far…

This paper reports on a case-study research investigation that sought to identify the relevance of emotional intelligence for effective higher education academic leadership. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, pre and post a leadership capacity development intervention, to gather broad data on participants' experiences, insights, and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on a study examining the perceptions of secondary principals, deputies and teachers, of deputy principal (DP) instructional leadership (IL), as well as deputies' professional learning (PL) needs. Framed within an interpretivist approach, the specific objectives of this study were: to explore the…

Background: Around the globe, education policy borrowing remains pervasive and prevalent. The strategies, interventions and innovations of education systems that perform well, in international assessments, are enthusiastically borrowed and copied in the anticipation of similar educational performance and outcomes. Purpose: This purpose of the…

In 2011 to 2012, 48 schools in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland participated in the Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) project. Central to this project was the establishment of positive working relationships between school principals and Indigenous community leaders in order to improve…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the factors that employees perceived were important in creating a supportive learning environment in a recently merged organisation. The study provides rich qualitative data from the employees' perspective. Design/methodology/approach: This case study used a qualitative phenomenological constructivist…

A review of the literature on corporate universities finds that the peak for research and publishing on the topic occurred between 1998 and 2002 and fell away considerably after 2005. Given the apparent lack of research during the past decade, the purpose of this paper is to present an insight into what has been happening to corporate…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact frontline supervisors have on workplace safety culture and to argue for increased formal supervisory training. Two studies conducted in 2006-08 and 2011 are examined and compared in which 28 Managers and Occupational Health and Safety Managers in the construction industry in Western Australia…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to utilize successful leadership practices drawn from seven nations to improve leadership preparation. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a case study approach to gain a contextualized understanding of successful leadership across seven nations. Data sources primarily featured interviews with principals,…

Leadership programs have been extensively promoted in rural communities in Australia. However, few have been evaluated. The results of the evaluation of a rural leadership program provided in this paper highlight the need for adult learning theories to be more overtly identified and utilised as the basis of planning and implementing leadership…

This article looks at women's efforts to construct an academic leadership career. It is not a study of women's leadership in general but one that takes place in what Bourdieu calls the academic field. Drawing from an in-depth interview study of 31 women from faculties of education who occupy managerial positions in universities in Canada,…

As part of the International Successful School Leadership Project, an updated model of successful school leadership based on Australian case studies is described. This model attempts to capture the relationship between the characteristics of the school leader (who they are), the interventions they initiate (what they do), and the way they respond…