This article reports some of the findings from research conducted by the author, who was also the principal of Saint Stephen's College, a coeducational independent school in South-east Queensland. The school was in the early stages of transitioning to a new organisational architecture (the way the physical, digital and human resources are aligned)…

Research demonstrates that teachers' expectations of students have long-term effects on students' educational, occupational, health and well-being outcomes. In this Australian-based study, teachers were invited to explore the questions "Do teachers have different expectations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students?"…

In large continental landmasses such as Australia, forms of education, including correspondence schooling, emerged in the early twentieth century that allowed children in remote regions to access education. To make such schooling possible, other "technologies" of state provision were mobilised such as the postal system, rail network, and…

This article is a qualitative study of the practice of leadership in Catholic schools in Australia. Within an interpretivist framework, a multiple case study of six lay principals was employed. Findings suggest that successful leadership in Catholic schools is highly influenced by the cultural and spiritual capital that a principal brings to a…

This review aims to demonstrate that a great deal of a school's success depends on which areas of school life the educational leader chooses to spend time and attention on. It calls for more research and policy attention to be given to the career paths of school principals in order to meet the challenge of identifying and developing the next…

Indicates serious shortcomings in the case for small secondary schools as presented in the past several years in South Australia. An unwarranted acceptance of the argument in favor of small secondary schools would exert a deleterious effect on secondary school provision. (Author/IRT)

A recent organizational study examined the different cultural worlds of senior members of the academic staff at the University of Melbourne. Outlines a new culture perspective that is applied to academic organization and emphasizes the utility and value of a cultural view. (53 references) (SI)

Discusses research in three Australian secondary schools planning to implement school-based decision-making and planning procedures as part of a "corporate-managerialist" restructuring program. Results showed that secondary schools are open social systems comprised of complex relationship patterns. A unitary view of secondary schools is…

Presents interview and survey data collected from samples of economically disadvantaged Australian secondary school students and school leavers. Previous claims that students are unwilling to remain in school because they dislike schooling need closer examination. Blaming school structure and lack of teacher encouragement is not supported by…

The ACCE position statement for creating media enriched learning communities targets all stakeholders in educational policy and practice who influence the future of learning, schools, and systems. Stakeholders include policy-makers in government, national and international organisations, professional networks and institutions, school leaders,…

This article looks beyond class size to such specifics as teachers' load, subject electives available, subject load, and different class groupings in developing a flow chart that gives added understanding and control over the variables relating to the deployment of teachers. (Author/IRT)

Consent engineering is a consultative approach used by public policy-makers to secure the legitimacy of proposed policy changes by involving representative interest groups in decision making. Using the example of five reorganizing secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, this article outlines the circumstances obviating consent engineering at the…

School-based management refers to a form of educational administration in which the school becomes the primary unit for decision-making. The book is structured into five parts. In part 1, international developments in school-based decision-making and management are documented and analyzed. Described are developments in Australia, Canada, France,…

Analyzes two private, secondary school rituals to determine why private schools are more effective than state schools in socializing students into acceptance of and support for the culture of the school. (Author/MW)

Explores how metaphors are used to identify and store some expectations that structure schools' interactions and communications. Outlines a systems-theoretical view of schools derived from Niklas Luhmann's social theories. Illustrates how the metaphors identified in an earlier study provide material contexts for identifying and storing structures…