Shared Principalship of Schools

Abstract

Since the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms of 1989 decentralised school administration, a managerialist construct of leadership has been officially promoted. It will be argued that this approach to school leadership has been at odds, not only with the beliefs and preferred practice of the majority of New Zealand primary school principals, but also with the recommendations of a wealth of national and international educational researchers and theorists. Collaborative management structures are not only an effective way of leading successful schools, but may attract into school leadership a wider variety of applicants. New Zealand primary schools are currently experiencing increasing difficulty recruiting new principals and retaining experienced ones. Alternative models of school principalship that might make the job more manageable and attractive, particularly to women, need to be explored. One such alternative model, shared principalship, is discussed.