- Title
- The impact of school autonomy reform on secondary principals
- Creator
- Hingston, June Irene
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- In the quest to improve the quality of education in schools, school autonomy policy has been widely embraced throughout the world. This movement away from centralised decision-making in schools is seen as an effective way of making education more responsive to diverse stakeholders and increasing the international competitiveness of educational systems and governments. While there is a substantial body of research on student achievement in contexts of greater school autonomy, there is a relative paucity of research on principal leadership of this reform. This is a particularly notable omission given the underlying premise of successful school autonomy reform that principals play a central role in making the critical connection between policy and improved student outcomes. This thesis focuses on the early implementation by secondary government school principals of the autonomy policy Local Schools, Local Decisions (LSLD), the reform agenda in New South Wales, Australia. As a jurisdiction in which greater autonomy has been relatively recently implemented within a traditionally highly centralised system, this policy is of specific interest because it so clearly exemplifies the tensions that exist between school autonomy and centralist system control. School autonomy refers to the decentralisation of formal decision-making authority within an organisation and encompasses terms like school-based management, school self-management, site-based management and local management of schools. The purpose of my study was to gain greater insight into the role of the principal with increased school autonomy in order to inform theory, practice, and policy on possible ways to maximise potential for reform. The need for this research is pressing given that the rate of autonomy reform is accelerating both locally and globally. A quantitative approach was adopted with 180 secondary principals completing a comprehensive questionnaire that explored: (1) principals’ views on increased school autonomy; (2) the innovation projects principals implemented with the additional resources provided; and, (3) the personal and professional impact of the reform on their role. The analysis was grounded in a detailed examination of principals’ perceptions of their “real”, “ideal”, and system “expected” leadership practice, based on Leithwood’s (2012a) conception of school-level leadership practice. Analysis of data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics. Principals were found to be remarkably positive about increased autonomy considering the additional demands it placed on their position. Their role changed and became more complex under LSLD, particularly in the areas of management/administration and accountability, leaving increasingly less time for educational leadership. In this environment, principals perceived that system support was critically important for effective autonomy implementation and consistently emphasised their need for increased levels, and more personally focused, support. Somewhat incongruously, the system focused on ‘structural autonomy’ and tight control of principal leadership while principals wanted greater professional autonomy. This apparent mismatch, resulting in high perceived workloads and levels of role tension, could impact on their efficacy. Based on these research findings, I argue that principal leadership, in an environment of increased autonomy, can be strengthened through four key leverage points for policy and practice: (1) building principal capability in both structural and professional autonomy for their expanded role; (2) greater clarification of autonomy policy, guidelines, and expectations of principals; (3) redesigning the role of principal to strengthen educational leadership over management and administration; and, (4) striking the right balance between school autonomy and system control. All involve the dynamic evolution of NSW government schools from a culture of tight systemic control, with high levels of compliance and accountability, to greater principal professional autonomy. Strategies for both principals and systems are proposed given that maximising the potential of school autonomy reform is best considered as a joint responsibility. The ultimate focus is on enhancing more sustainable and autonomous leadership in schools to support policy reform and improved student outcomes.
- Subject
- school autonomy; principal leadership; innovation; policy reform; school-based management
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1391419
- Identifier
- uon:33229
- Rights
- Copyright 2018 June Irene Hingston
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 351 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |