Leading a Successful and Flourishing Australian Rural School

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Educational Leadership in Rural and Remote Communities

Abstract

Whilst there is much written about successful school leadership, rural schools are under-represented. The paper explores evidence from a multiple perspective, mixed method case study of a successful rural school in Australia. The research included a staff survey, observations of the school, and interviews the principal, teachers, governors, parents and students. In this paper, the findings are considered from two perspectives: an open systems model of successful school leadership; an ecosystem perspective of Diaz-Gibson and colleagues. A new open systems model is described that includes change perspectives and the ecosystem elements of cultivating, facilitating and thriving to arrive at a model that better captures the complex interaction between leadership, various contextual forces, and student and school outcomes of the school.

Authors

• Christopher Hudson, Federation University Australia

• David M. Gurr, University of Melbourne