Unlocking school success: person-organisation fit between a principal and a successful rural school in Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The more than six decades of research on school effectiveness and the two decades of research on school success demonstrates the importance of principal leadership in successful schools. However, the 30-year history of research on person-environment fit has not been robustly connected to the literature on successful school leadership. This study extends the literature on successful school leadership by presenting an analysis of a sub-field of person-environment fit, that of person-organisation (P–O) fit, between a principal and a successful school in rural Victoria, Australia. Multiple perspective, mixed method case study methodology was used. Data were collected through interviews with school leaders, teachers, students, parents, a school council president and a system leaders school observation, document analysis and a teacher survey. Results showed that the principal enacted the core practices of successful school leadership to secure school success. Further analysis of these practices highlighted the P–O fit between the principal and the school, especially as it related to the principal’s native connection to the community and the success of the school. The findings of this study offer important considerations to inform future investigations on the P–O fit between principals and successful rural schools in different contexts.