It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-ba... more It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-based curriculum change. With the recent introduction of a new national curriculum in New Zealand, schools will need to develop strategies to incorporate this new curriculum into their programmes. This paper outlines evidence from international literature about how the leadership of principals is linked to change. It also examines evidence from case studies of early adopter schools. A major finding is that there appear to be common factors at work across effective secondary school principals, in particular an enthusiasm for proactive leadership of changes in school culture involving fundamental shifts in thinking and behaviour.
Neoliberal ideologies influence both the content and pedagogical approach of educational leadersh... more Neoliberal ideologies influence both the content and pedagogical approach of educational leadership programmes. This article proposes an alternate pedagogy, one which privileges the experiential nature of the leadership and challenges students to critique prevailing ideologies within education. The authors describe the reshaping of a compulsory, foundational academic paper within a Masters of educational leadership programme to focus on the phenomenon of leadership more explicitly. They illustrate the use of student stories and hermeneutic interpretation to deepen the appreciation of the contextual nature of educational leadership practice. The authors suggest that the influence of this pedagogical approach resides in the sincerity of the pedagogical comportment of the teaching faculty and the elusiveness of the taken-for-granted nature of leadership. They conclude that pedagogical processes that maintain a centrality of concern for the humanity of leadership experiences are a matte...
It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-ba... more It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-based curriculum change. With the recent introduction of a new national curriculum in New Zealand, schools will need to develop strategies to incorporate this new curriculum into their programmes. This paper outlines evidence from international literature about how the leadership of principals is linked to change. It also examines evidence from case studies of early adopter schools. A major finding is that there appear to be common factors at work across effective secondary school principals, in particular an enthusiasm for proactive leadership of changes in school culture involving fundamental shifts in thinking and behaviour.
The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the fo... more The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis.
This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the ... more This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the dominant language and had little experience in the dominant culture. The school directors expressed interest in providing a socially just environment to welcome these children. Teachers in this study recognised the needs of indigenous and migrant populations, such as work, food, shelter, clothing, health, and education. They acted in a committed manner to ensure that the provisions of education and food were established as a minimum condition for learning. The directors began their work by conducting an in-depth analysis of the school and worked toward a collaborative plan.
This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the ... more This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the dominant language and had little experience in the dominant culture. The school directors expressed interest in providing a socially just environment to welcome these children. Teachers in this study recognised the needs of indigenous and migrant populations, such as work, food, shelter, clothing, health, and education. They acted in a committed manner to ensure that the provisions of education and food were established as a minimum condition for learning. The directors began their work by conducting an in-depth analysis of the school and worked toward a collaborative plan.
The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the fo... more The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis. An ascent up the highest peaks is rarely a solo effort and an academic Everest no exception. This expedition has proven a monumental one, an intellectual, emotional and embodied feat that has consumed the best part of a decade of part-time work. Each step of this journey has been replete with the inspiration, encouragement and guidance of companions whose presence has enriched and fortified. I remain forever grateful and indebted to:
Journal of educational leadership, policy and practice, 2015
Social justice is a fluid and contested notion. In the absence of a nationally accepted definitio... more Social justice is a fluid and contested notion. In the absence of a nationally accepted definition of, and commitment to, social justice, New Zealand school leaders and their communities must interpret the nature and substance of this phenomenon. This article examines the perspectives of eight secondary principals who participated in the International School Leadership Development Network's (ISLDN) study on leadership for social justice. Whilst not explicitly theorized as such, participant perspectives of social justice reveal distributive, cultural and associational dimensions. These notions are grounded in, and shaped by, seminal experiences of social justice and injustice, both personal and vicarious. They reflect the amorphous and tentative nature of school leaders' social justice conceptions, and a clarion call for a wider professional conversation.
Universally motivated by altruism and the desire to serve their children's schools well, loca... more Universally motivated by altruism and the desire to serve their children's schools well, locally elected parent representatives of New Zealand boards of trustees (BOTs) are charged with the responsibility of appointing the principal. This paper draws on semi-structured interviews with the chairpersons of four primary schools in two cities - two in affluent high decile areas and two in relatively disadvantaged low decile ones - in order to examine the perspectives and understandings that informed the board recruitment and selection process. Findings suggest that the appointment of a principal with the capacity to exercise highly effective, contextually specific educational leadership is more likely to occur in higher decile schools and is most needed in lower decile ones. The paper concludes that targeted support and a review of governance arrangements will be necessary for inequity in principal appointment processes to be addressed.
As New Zealand contemplates wholesale review of the formal schooling system and the leadership im... more As New Zealand contemplates wholesale review of the formal schooling system and the leadership implications thereof, the winds of educational change begin to swirl. Not the persistent, yet gentle flutter of change that evolves the educational landscape in almost imperceptible ways, but tumultuous paradigmatic gales that potentially change it beyond all recognition. Heralded by politicians, economists and capitalists, there is little doubt that the 1989 neoliberal tempest wrought havoc on notions of community and profession. The whirlwind shift from social democracy to market competition, managerialism and performativity saw critical voices silenced and educators disparagingly positioned as self-interested providers. In the rush to legislate Tomorrow's Schools, 18,000 submissions remained unanalysed and therein lies a crucial lesson: we ignore research at our peril. As educators, we have a moral obligation to generate, disseminate and critique understandings of leadership, policy and practice; to remain open to counter perspectives; and to contribute positively and hopefully to research that empowers and emancipates. Consistent with JELPP's commitment to honouring diversity in leadership focus, setting, and authorship, articles in this year's general edition offer fresh insight into topics of interconnected and perennial importance: native knowledge, instructional leadership, indigenous teachers, appraisal, professional values, and safe schools. The opening article, by Hawani Negussie and Charles Slater, draws on Yosso's community cultural wealth theory to explore the integration of indigenous knowledge and cultural practices in early childhood care and education in Addis Ababa. The authors show how international policy intervention has discounted the "sense and essence of Africanism" in Ethiopian education, thereby creating "two sets of citizens". They urge the adoption by UNESCO of Education For All (EFA) goals that prioritise local language and tradition, and uphold parents' cultural aspirations for their children. These findings illuminate Ethiopian early childhood education for the first time in JELPP and will surely resonate beyond national borders. In Culturally sustaining instructional leadership: Perspectives from Native American public school principals in Montana and Wyoming, Toby Holmes and Suzanne Young examine the principal's role in supporting teachers to enact culturally sustaining pedagogy. Synthesised from professional experience and literature, their model of culturally sustaining instructional leadership (CSIL) identifies six instructional and five cultural elements necessary to "incubate", empower and democratise classrooms, schools and communities. Testing this construct with principals in Montana and Wyoming, Holmes and Young found that a distinct preference for instructional elements limits principals' ability to serve students "most in need of cultural leadership". Despite compelling meta-analyses that confirm a powerful correlation between instructional leadership and student attainment, research also suggests that time, expertise, and role expectation constraints mean school principals exercise instructional leadership far less frequently than expected, and that much of this responsibility is delegated to curriculum leaders. Exploration of the role that middle leaders play in instructional leadership forms the focus of the third article by Carol Cardno, Joanne Robson, Arun Deo, Martin Bassett, and Jo Howse. Their survey of 185 primary and secondary middle leaders reveals a degree of consensus over role expectations but considerable gaps in performance confidence, particularly around teacher appraisal and challenging professional conversations. Evaluation of the researchers' initial hypothesising adds robustness to this empirical research. New Zealand readers will be only too familiar with the burden of responsibility placed on Māori teachers who, in addition to their teaching commitments, are expected to perform powhiri and other rituals,
Academics and lay persons alike freely acknowledge that principals exert enormous influence over ... more Academics and lay persons alike freely acknowledge that principals exert enormous influence over the creation, maintenance and enhancement of the learning environment in schools. They recognise that a turbulent educational world presents principals with multiple challenges in sustaining the conditions necessary for student achievement, and that some principals are more successful in this endeavour than others. This small-scale qualitative study uses a semi-structured interview process to gather data from five Chairpersons of Boards of Trustees who have appointed a principal within the preceding twelve months. The study discusses the professional capabilities that theoretical and empirical research suggests distinguish highly effective principals from capable performers. It adopts a bipartite approach to the literature, examining both academic understandings and the degree to which available official publications inform the thinking of Boards of Trustees prior to embarking on the pri...
Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice
In the mi[d]st of policy enactment: Leading innovative learning environments (ILEs) in New Zealan... more In the mi[d]st of policy enactment: Leading innovative learning environments (ILEs) in New Zealand schools Fundamental innovation in education systems is problematic, disruptive and challenging. It requires those who are steeped in existing systems and ways of being to rethink and reimagine their professional understanding and practice. The intended outcome of a changed system is presumably more effective learning opportunities and better outcomes for students. However, the very nature of systemic change creates uncertainty in that there is not yet evidence that the 'new system' will necessarily be 'better' than the original. These and other challenges are reflected in a number of the articles in this special issue. To paraphrase the sentiments in some of the articles, the current model of schooling is no longer fit for purpose. It is predicated on neoliberal thinking, accepts the utility of a transmission model, and is arguably aimed at preparing young individuals for the marketplace. Despite the rapid changes occurring in this post-school marketplace, many western education systems are not keeping pace with, or necessarily acknowledging, the nature of these changes. Conceptualising school-based education differently requires new ways of understanding, the propensity to develop and encourage new discourse, and the courage to contest the status quo. Handy (2015) suggests that we need to challenge orthodoxy, dream a little, think unreasonably and dare the impossible if we are going to have any chance of making the future work for all of us, not just the favoured few. That was the origin of the thinking behind the principle of the second curve. (p. 7)
It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-ba... more It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-based curriculum change. With the recent introduction of a new national curriculum in New Zealand, schools will need to develop strategies to incorporate this new curriculum into their programmes. This paper outlines evidence from international literature about how the leadership of principals is linked to change. It also examines evidence from case studies of early adopter schools. A major finding is that there appear to be common factors at work across effective secondary school principals, in particular an enthusiasm for proactive leadership of changes in school culture involving fundamental shifts in thinking and behaviour.
Neoliberal ideologies influence both the content and pedagogical approach of educational leadersh... more Neoliberal ideologies influence both the content and pedagogical approach of educational leadership programmes. This article proposes an alternate pedagogy, one which privileges the experiential nature of the leadership and challenges students to critique prevailing ideologies within education. The authors describe the reshaping of a compulsory, foundational academic paper within a Masters of educational leadership programme to focus on the phenomenon of leadership more explicitly. They illustrate the use of student stories and hermeneutic interpretation to deepen the appreciation of the contextual nature of educational leadership practice. The authors suggest that the influence of this pedagogical approach resides in the sincerity of the pedagogical comportment of the teaching faculty and the elusiveness of the taken-for-granted nature of leadership. They conclude that pedagogical processes that maintain a centrality of concern for the humanity of leadership experiences are a matte...
It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-ba... more It is widely recognised that the leadership of school principals is a crucial factor in school-based curriculum change. With the recent introduction of a new national curriculum in New Zealand, schools will need to develop strategies to incorporate this new curriculum into their programmes. This paper outlines evidence from international literature about how the leadership of principals is linked to change. It also examines evidence from case studies of early adopter schools. A major finding is that there appear to be common factors at work across effective secondary school principals, in particular an enthusiasm for proactive leadership of changes in school culture involving fundamental shifts in thinking and behaviour.
The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the fo... more The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis.
This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the ... more This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the dominant language and had little experience in the dominant culture. The school directors expressed interest in providing a socially just environment to welcome these children. Teachers in this study recognised the needs of indigenous and migrant populations, such as work, food, shelter, clothing, health, and education. They acted in a committed manner to ensure that the provisions of education and food were established as a minimum condition for learning. The directors began their work by conducting an in-depth analysis of the school and worked toward a collaborative plan.
This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the ... more This chapter looks at schools in Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain where children did not speak the dominant language and had little experience in the dominant culture. The school directors expressed interest in providing a socially just environment to welcome these children. Teachers in this study recognised the needs of indigenous and migrant populations, such as work, food, shelter, clothing, health, and education. They acted in a committed manner to ensure that the provisions of education and food were established as a minimum condition for learning. The directors began their work by conducting an in-depth analysis of the school and worked toward a collaborative plan.
The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the fo... more The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis. An ascent up the highest peaks is rarely a solo effort and an academic Everest no exception. This expedition has proven a monumental one, an intellectual, emotional and embodied feat that has consumed the best part of a decade of part-time work. Each step of this journey has been replete with the inspiration, encouragement and guidance of companions whose presence has enriched and fortified. I remain forever grateful and indebted to:
Journal of educational leadership, policy and practice, 2015
Social justice is a fluid and contested notion. In the absence of a nationally accepted definitio... more Social justice is a fluid and contested notion. In the absence of a nationally accepted definition of, and commitment to, social justice, New Zealand school leaders and their communities must interpret the nature and substance of this phenomenon. This article examines the perspectives of eight secondary principals who participated in the International School Leadership Development Network's (ISLDN) study on leadership for social justice. Whilst not explicitly theorized as such, participant perspectives of social justice reveal distributive, cultural and associational dimensions. These notions are grounded in, and shaped by, seminal experiences of social justice and injustice, both personal and vicarious. They reflect the amorphous and tentative nature of school leaders' social justice conceptions, and a clarion call for a wider professional conversation.
Universally motivated by altruism and the desire to serve their children's schools well, loca... more Universally motivated by altruism and the desire to serve their children's schools well, locally elected parent representatives of New Zealand boards of trustees (BOTs) are charged with the responsibility of appointing the principal. This paper draws on semi-structured interviews with the chairpersons of four primary schools in two cities - two in affluent high decile areas and two in relatively disadvantaged low decile ones - in order to examine the perspectives and understandings that informed the board recruitment and selection process. Findings suggest that the appointment of a principal with the capacity to exercise highly effective, contextually specific educational leadership is more likely to occur in higher decile schools and is most needed in lower decile ones. The paper concludes that targeted support and a review of governance arrangements will be necessary for inequity in principal appointment processes to be addressed.
As New Zealand contemplates wholesale review of the formal schooling system and the leadership im... more As New Zealand contemplates wholesale review of the formal schooling system and the leadership implications thereof, the winds of educational change begin to swirl. Not the persistent, yet gentle flutter of change that evolves the educational landscape in almost imperceptible ways, but tumultuous paradigmatic gales that potentially change it beyond all recognition. Heralded by politicians, economists and capitalists, there is little doubt that the 1989 neoliberal tempest wrought havoc on notions of community and profession. The whirlwind shift from social democracy to market competition, managerialism and performativity saw critical voices silenced and educators disparagingly positioned as self-interested providers. In the rush to legislate Tomorrow's Schools, 18,000 submissions remained unanalysed and therein lies a crucial lesson: we ignore research at our peril. As educators, we have a moral obligation to generate, disseminate and critique understandings of leadership, policy and practice; to remain open to counter perspectives; and to contribute positively and hopefully to research that empowers and emancipates. Consistent with JELPP's commitment to honouring diversity in leadership focus, setting, and authorship, articles in this year's general edition offer fresh insight into topics of interconnected and perennial importance: native knowledge, instructional leadership, indigenous teachers, appraisal, professional values, and safe schools. The opening article, by Hawani Negussie and Charles Slater, draws on Yosso's community cultural wealth theory to explore the integration of indigenous knowledge and cultural practices in early childhood care and education in Addis Ababa. The authors show how international policy intervention has discounted the "sense and essence of Africanism" in Ethiopian education, thereby creating "two sets of citizens". They urge the adoption by UNESCO of Education For All (EFA) goals that prioritise local language and tradition, and uphold parents' cultural aspirations for their children. These findings illuminate Ethiopian early childhood education for the first time in JELPP and will surely resonate beyond national borders. In Culturally sustaining instructional leadership: Perspectives from Native American public school principals in Montana and Wyoming, Toby Holmes and Suzanne Young examine the principal's role in supporting teachers to enact culturally sustaining pedagogy. Synthesised from professional experience and literature, their model of culturally sustaining instructional leadership (CSIL) identifies six instructional and five cultural elements necessary to "incubate", empower and democratise classrooms, schools and communities. Testing this construct with principals in Montana and Wyoming, Holmes and Young found that a distinct preference for instructional elements limits principals' ability to serve students "most in need of cultural leadership". Despite compelling meta-analyses that confirm a powerful correlation between instructional leadership and student attainment, research also suggests that time, expertise, and role expectation constraints mean school principals exercise instructional leadership far less frequently than expected, and that much of this responsibility is delegated to curriculum leaders. Exploration of the role that middle leaders play in instructional leadership forms the focus of the third article by Carol Cardno, Joanne Robson, Arun Deo, Martin Bassett, and Jo Howse. Their survey of 185 primary and secondary middle leaders reveals a degree of consensus over role expectations but considerable gaps in performance confidence, particularly around teacher appraisal and challenging professional conversations. Evaluation of the researchers' initial hypothesising adds robustness to this empirical research. New Zealand readers will be only too familiar with the burden of responsibility placed on Māori teachers who, in addition to their teaching commitments, are expected to perform powhiri and other rituals,
Academics and lay persons alike freely acknowledge that principals exert enormous influence over ... more Academics and lay persons alike freely acknowledge that principals exert enormous influence over the creation, maintenance and enhancement of the learning environment in schools. They recognise that a turbulent educational world presents principals with multiple challenges in sustaining the conditions necessary for student achievement, and that some principals are more successful in this endeavour than others. This small-scale qualitative study uses a semi-structured interview process to gather data from five Chairpersons of Boards of Trustees who have appointed a principal within the preceding twelve months. The study discusses the professional capabilities that theoretical and empirical research suggests distinguish highly effective principals from capable performers. It adopts a bipartite approach to the literature, examining both academic understandings and the degree to which available official publications inform the thinking of Boards of Trustees prior to embarking on the pri...
Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice
In the mi[d]st of policy enactment: Leading innovative learning environments (ILEs) in New Zealan... more In the mi[d]st of policy enactment: Leading innovative learning environments (ILEs) in New Zealand schools Fundamental innovation in education systems is problematic, disruptive and challenging. It requires those who are steeped in existing systems and ways of being to rethink and reimagine their professional understanding and practice. The intended outcome of a changed system is presumably more effective learning opportunities and better outcomes for students. However, the very nature of systemic change creates uncertainty in that there is not yet evidence that the 'new system' will necessarily be 'better' than the original. These and other challenges are reflected in a number of the articles in this special issue. To paraphrase the sentiments in some of the articles, the current model of schooling is no longer fit for purpose. It is predicated on neoliberal thinking, accepts the utility of a transmission model, and is arguably aimed at preparing young individuals for the marketplace. Despite the rapid changes occurring in this post-school marketplace, many western education systems are not keeping pace with, or necessarily acknowledging, the nature of these changes. Conceptualising school-based education differently requires new ways of understanding, the propensity to develop and encourage new discourse, and the courage to contest the status quo. Handy (2015) suggests that we need to challenge orthodoxy, dream a little, think unreasonably and dare the impossible if we are going to have any chance of making the future work for all of us, not just the favoured few. That was the origin of the thinking behind the principle of the second curve. (p. 7)
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Papers by Michele Morrison