Leading pedagogical reform: Australian principals tell their stories

Abstract

ABSTRACT The tsunami of global educational reform in the past decade has led to national, regional and school-based policy redevelopment to elevate teaching standards, enrich student learning and improve results. Consequently, principals are frequently charged with leading mandated pedagogical reform in their schools. Building on earlier research concerning school improvement, principal leadership and pedagogical reform, a case study aimed to discover the benefits and challenges of implementing such change in one region of Queensland’s Department of Education and Training, through listening to regional administrators’, principals’ and teachers’ stories. The ‘common language’ for student learning and the move towards authentic pedagogical improvement were applauded by all. Principals reflected on their leadership of the reform and advocated additional regional support, training and leadership skills development to maximize sustainability. Regional administrators’ stories revealed assumptions about staff understanding the big picture of pedagogical reform and how to implement strategies in the classroom, whilst teachers’ stories emphasized that capacity-building must occur more from the ground up and not be characterized by the top-down nature of systemic mandated reform. The alignments and disconnects between the principals’ and others’ stories, reflect the real challenges faced by principals in today’s global climate of ongoing educational reform.