Faculty of Education - Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/162

Filters

2000 2
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Type: Masters Research thesis × Start date: 2000 × End date: 2000 × Subject: Australia × Subject: Educational leadership ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Principal leadership and accountability
    Smith, Gregory Peter ( 2000)
    This thesis focuses on Primary School Principal leadership and accountability within the restructured Government education system. It proposes a model of accountability that incorporates the many influences that impact on the leadership role of the Principal in the Primary School. The study includes a critical review of international and Australian literature in relation to leadership and accountability in schools, as well as the analysis of data collected from fifteen Primary School Principals. The literature review draws together the two components of leadership and accountability within the role of. the Primary School Principal. A critical analysis and discussion of data collected from focus groups and interviews in a holistic phemonological study of fifteen Primary School Principals in the Northern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne examines how leadership and accountability influence their role. The thesis proposes a model of accountability that takes into account the influences that are placed upon Principals and makes recommendations for further study.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Through a glass, darkly : a case study
    Milte, Elizabeth Anne ( 2000)
    This study describes, explores and explains a case which occurred in an Australian State primary school, when permission was withdrawn for a research project which sought to survey parents' perceptions of the school. This occurred three weeks after all questionnaires had been distributed, by hand through the school, to every family in the school. The research project was the work of the Deputy Principal, the author of this thesis, who is also known as the researcher and the participant observer. The case is then rewritten, scenarios are constructed and leadership behaviours are described within the Structural, Human Resource, Political and Symbolic frames set forth by Bolman and Deal. A fifth frame, an Ethical frame, as proposed by Starratt, is also applied to the case. These frames comprise most leadership theory and each provides the base for a scenario in which the researcher may more clearly pose a question, a curious phenomenon or a problematic issue. Through the creation of scenarios the researcher was able to understand complex interactions, tacit processes and often hidden beliefs and values within organisations. Each frame generates a different set of strategies. In this way knowledge is gained and potential futures are posited, leading to a sharpened awareness of the forces acting on leaders. The thesis is underpinned by the belief that a conscious and reflective review of, and inquiry into, one's actions as a leader through the creation of scenarios will assist the development of an ethical and pragmatic personal theory of organisation. It is an aim of this thesis to demonstrate that where a case is recreated within the five ideal frames possible futures are evoked, creating an environment for wise decision making and enhanced leadership behaviour.