Academic literature on the topic 'School management and organization Australia Case studies'

PurposeAn innovative technology called consciousness-based education (CBE) is being introduced in schools worldwide. The approach includes both an experiential and an intellectual component. However, research studies exploring learning in CBE are rare. The purpose of the paper is to explore how organizational learning takes place in schools, which adopt CBE in addition to their ordinary curriculum. Moreover, the ambition of the approach regarding quality is examined.Methodology/approachA multiple-case study has been carried out. Four schools using CBE have been studied: a private school in Fairfield, Iowa, USA; a governmentally funded free school in Skelmersdale, United Kingdom; an independent school in Melbourne, Australia, and a primary school in Lelystad, the Netherlands. In total, 26 in-depth interviews have been performed, mainly with teachers and students but also with principals and experts in the CBE pedagogy. In addition, three focus-group interviews with primary school pupils were conducted and observation during classes was included. The data were analyzed by the constant comparative technique from the grounded theory approach.FindingsCategories characterizing organizational learning in the CBE schools have been identified. These findings are related to theories of the learning organization, resulting in a framework depicting different components of learning.Research limitation/implicationThe study provides a framework illustrating organizational learning in schools that utilize CBE which affords an overview of the technology and can serve as a vantage point for further research. Since this is a qualitative case study, the effectiveness of the CBE approach and its impact on learning outcomes were not assessed, and the possibilities to generalize the findings are limited.Originality/valueCBE has not previously been studied from an organizational learning perspective.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report four case studies in Australia that respond to the question: “How have schools with a relatively high degree of autonomy used their increased authority and responsibility to make decisions that have led in explicit cause-and-effect fashion to higher levels of student achievement”? Design/methodology/approach A conventional case study methodology was adopted, framed by a review of evidence in the international literature. The studies were conducted in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Victoria. Senior leaders in systems of public education in these jurisdictions nominated schools which have had a relatively high degree of autonomy for at least two years; have achieved high levels of student achievement, or have shown noteworthy improvement; and are able to explain how the link between autonomy and achievement had been made. The four schools chosen from these nominations represented different types as far as level and location were concerned. Triangulation of sources was a feature of the studies. Findings The findings reveal that the schools were able to explain the links and that it was possible to map the cause-and-effect chain. Schools used their autonomy to select staff and allocate funds in their budgets, each being capacities that came with a higher level of autonomy. Leadership was important. Research limitations/implications The paper cautions against generalizing the findings. Originality/value There is international interest in the extent to which granting public schools a higher level of autonomy than has traditionally been the case in various national settings has had an impact on student achievement. These case studies go part of the way in describing what schools do when they successfully take up a higher level of authority and responsibility as one strategy in efforts to raise levels of achievement.

In Australia, Aboriginal peoples have sought to exploit and challenge settler colonial schooling to meet their own goals and needs, engaging in strategic, diverse and creative ways closely tied to labour markets and the labour movement. Here, we bring together two case studies to illustrate the interplay of negotiation, resistance and compulsion that we argue has characterised Aboriginal engagements with school as a structure within settler colonial capitalism. Our first case study explains how Aboriginal families in Victoria and New South Wales deliberately exploited gaps in school record collecting to maintain mobility during the mid-twentieth century and engaged with labour markets that enabled visits to country. Our second case study explores the Strelley mob’s establishment of independent, Aboriginal-controlled bilingual schools in the 1970s to maintain control of their labour and their futures. Techniques of survival developed in and around schooling have been neglected by historians, yet they demonstrate how schooling has been a strategic political project, both for Aboriginal peoples and the Australian settler colonial state.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw from data collected as part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) and present cases of democratic and heroic leadership from three countries, discussing to what extent successful school principals in each of their research sites (Melbourne, Australia; Umeå, Sweden; Arizona and Texas in the USA) carry old and new perspectives of heroism in their leadership. In particular the paper explores two questions: first, how do school principals describe aspects of heroic and post-heroic leadership in their practices? and second, how do these heroic and post-heroic leadership practices meet contemporary demands such as accountability standards and build inclusive and collaborative school communities in challenging contexts? Design/methodology/approach – Multiple-perspective case studies involving semi-structured individual and group interviews with principals, teachers, students, parents and school board members were used to understand the contribution of principals and other leadership to school success. Findings – The definitions of heroic and post-heroic leadership are inadequate in defining successful principal leadership. The Australian, Swedish and American principals showed characteristics of both heroic and post-heroic leadership. They showed heroic qualities such as: inspiring and motivating others; challenging the status quo; showing integrity in conflicting situations; putting duty before self; taking risks to champion a better way; showing courage to stand up to those in authority; advocating for students in struggling neighbourhoods under the scrutiny of both district and public expectations; and, showing uncommon commitment. Yet our principals showed post-heroic leadership such as involving others in decision making and recognising that school success depended on collective effort, and being sensitive to community needs through a deep respect for the local culture. Originality/value – The research shows that we may need to redefine and recast our images of who school principals are today, and what they do to generate academic success for students. Both heroic and post-heroic images of leadership are needed to explain successful school leadership.

1. Alivizatou, M. (2019). Digital intangible heritage: Inventories, virtual learning and participation. Heritage & Society, 12(2–3), 116–135. 2. Billett, S. (2009). Conceptualizing learning experiences: Contributions and mediations of the social, personal, and brute. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 16(1), 32–47. 3. Bonilla, C. M. (2014). Racial Counternarratives and L atina Epistemologies in Relational Organizing. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 45(4), 391–408. 4. Britain, T. (2007). How We Are: Photographing Britain. 5. Brodie, R. J., Hollebeek, L. D., Jurić, B., & Ilić, A. (2011). Customer Engagement: Conceptual Domain, Fundamental Propositions, and Implications for Research. Journal of Service Research, 14(3), 252–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670511411703 6. Budge, K. (2017). Objects in focus: Museum visitors and Instagram. Curator: The Museum Journal, 60(1), 67–85. 7. Budge, K., & Burness, A. (2018). 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In this article, Katya Johanson and Hilary Glow examine the ways in which performing arts companies and arts policy institutions perceive the needs of children as audiences. Historically, children have been promoted as arts audiences. Some of these represent an attempt to fashion the adults of the future – as audiences, citizens of a nation, or members of a specific community. Other rationales focus on the needs or rights of the child, such as educational goals or the provision of an antidote to the perceived corrupting effect of electronic entertainment. Drawing on interviews with performing arts practitioners, the authors explore some of these themes through case studies of three children's theatre companies, identifying the development of policy rationales for the support of practices directed at children which are primarily based on pedagogical principles. The case studies reveal a shift away from educational goals for children's theatre, and identify a new emphasis on the importance of valuing children's aesthetic choices, examining how these trends are enacted within the case-study organizations, and the implications of these trends for company programming. Hilary Glow is Senior Lecturer and Director of the Arts Management Program at Deakin University, Victoria. She has published articles on cultural policy and the audience experience in various journals, and in a monograph on Australian political theatre (2007). Katya Johanson lectures and researches in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University. She has published on Australian cultural policy and on the relationship between art, politics and national identity. With Glow she is the author of a monograph on Australian indigenous performing arts (2009).

Purpose This interview demonstrates how CEOs can focus on CSR to engage the workforce and change the culture and performance of an organization. Design/methodology/approach This article reports on an interview with Dr David Cooke, Managing Director of Konica Minolta Australia. Findings By introducing CSR to the firm, and in particular pursuing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #8 against human trafficking, the MD not only changed the management style and culture in the organization, but also enhanced commercial results. Performance improved across many measures: revenue, profit, market share in a declining marketplace, highest number of units placed into the Australian market, increasing prestige associated with the company’s brand, and becoming an employer of choice. Research limitations/implications The findings are consistent with the literature on corporate sustainable investment, but further studies are needed to fully understand the processes involved in changing culture and improving performance via CSR. Practical implications This interview clearly shows the steps that the new CEO took in radically changing the culture of his organization by adopting CSR extensively. Social implications The power of business is vital to pursuing societal goals, and the case of Konica Minolta Australia demonstrates that doing so also benefits the company. Originality/value This study clearly explains how a corporate culture was changed and performance enhanced through a strategy based on investment in social issues.

Purpose High-stakes accountability and continuous multi-faceted pressures of the principalship require leaders to develop a broad range of personal qualities including resilience and personal vitality. Scant research exists on what happens to school principals when careers abruptly and involuntarily end, and the purpose of this paper is sought to hear principals’ accounts of their experiences and to identify whether these personal qualities assist recovery and career re-identification. Design/methodology/approach A collaborative English and Australian study of former principals aimed to evaluate effects of involuntary job loss from their own perspectives. In total, 12 case studies involved one-on-one interviews during a two-year period revealing impact of job loss, coping strategies, resilience and personal vitality. Findings Successful management indicators were found: personal qualities, including the ability to retain a perspective and big picture view of career journey; an enduring love of teaching; health and fitness; study; getting another suitable post; and psychological and medical support. Time taken to regain pre-existing levels of personal vitality varied significantly based on resilience and contextual circumstances, whilst psychological and social support from family and professional colleagues was invaluable for recovery. Originality/value This international study presents an original insight into effects of principals’ sudden job loss – a perspective which has imposing pastoral relevance for employing authorities, professional associations and collegial networks. Aspiring and current principals may feel, “There but for the grace of God, go I”, and it is they who may need ultimately to be prepared for what is an increasingly common occurrence in schools across the world.

Laws dealing with practices that ‘get around’ tariffs imposed by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members on dumped or subsidized goods are well established in some Members but have only recently been introduced in Australia. The compliance of these laws with WTO norms is open to debate. The economic rationale for penalizing some kinds of commercial practice as circumvention may be similarly contested. This article outlines the Australian laws and accompanying investigation procedures, with available case studies, and poses questions about the need for them and about their legitimacy in policy terms.

On September 27, 2018, Professor James G. March, a giant in our field, passed away at the age of 90 (1928–2018), just one month after his wife and high school sweetheart, Jayne, passed away. March's impact on the field of organization studies and beyond is profound and long-lasting. The advancement of the field is truly indebted to March's brilliance and dedication to the search of truth as a great scholar. March wrote the inaugural article for Management and Organization Review (MOR) (2005), ‘Parochialism in the Evolution of a Research Community: The Case of Organization Studies’. This article not only provided a critical foundation underlying the editorial structure and philosophy of MOR but also argued eloquently for the salience of indigenous Chinese management studies as a necessary condition for building both contextualized and universal knowledge.

Australian policy contexts are promoting school transformation through teacher learning and the development of schools as professional learning communities. However, Australian practitioners have very limited contextualised research to guide their efforts in response to these policies. The researcher's involvement in a school revitalisation process provided the impetus for this research study that investigates the practitioner experience of a developing professional learning community at RI College (pseudonym for a large independent girls' school in Brisbane). This study endeavours to gain a more informed and sophisticated understanding of developing a professional learning community with the intention of 'living' this vision of RI College as a professional learning community. Praxis-oriented research questions focus on the practitioner conceptualisation of their school as a developing professional community and their experience of supporting/hindering strategies and structures. The study gives voice to this practitioner experience through the emerging participatory/co-operative research paradigm, an epistemology of participative inquiry, a research methodology of co-operative inquiry and mixed methods data collection strategies. Incorporating ten practitioner inquiries over two years, recursive cycles of action/reflection engaged practitioners as co-researchers in the collaborative reflective processes of a professional learning community while generating knowledge about the conceptualisation and supporting/hindering influences on its development. The outcomes of these first-person and second-person inquiries, together with a researcher devised online survey of teachers, were both informative and transformative in nature and led to the development of the researcher's theoretical perspectives in response to the study's research questions.;As outcomes of co-operative inquiry, these theoretical perspectives inform the researcher's future actions and offer insights into existing propositional knowledge in the field. Engagement in this practitioner inquiry research has had significant transformative outcomes for the co-researchers and has demonstrated the power of collaborative inquiry in promoting collective and individual professional learning and personal growth.

The focus of the research was on the manifestation of leadership that emerged in one district high school in Western Australia undergoing both imposed and self-determined change. Given the phenomena, which were deemed to involve complex human behaviour, a decision was made to locate the research within the naturalistic paradigm. The research was established in the “bounded case study” mode in which the school was regarded as an instant draw from a class within which issues would be discovered the described and studies in order to achieve understanding. A second district high school was used as a reference point from which developments in the case study school might be judged. A bounded case study of a second district high school as its school development plan was ratified by the district superintendent, was conducted. The school development plan was considered to be the product of the changes this school had undergone. A three phase research design was adopted in order to formulate research questions and procedures, undertake trialing and collect data. Data was collected by formal and informal interviews, direct observations and weekly three day visits to the case study school and periodic visits to the reference school. The Principal of the later school was used as an “external auditor” for the data analysis and interpretations. Data were analysed using a data content analysis system based upon a single frame of reference - interventions - and a preliminary categorization taxonomy developed as an initial conceptual framework. Data were ‘mapped” using two techniques based on chronologies of action and events (interventions) and leadership approach. Analysis of data indicated that the cultural difference between the secondary, upper primary and junior primary sections of district high schools should be taken into account when change is implemented in those schools. A clear and unambiguous definition of the tasks, functions and powers of district superintendents and principals of self-determining schools within the reform Ministry of Education should be developed so that conflicting understandings by Ministry of Education staff no longer exist. To develop a non-adversary relationship with principals, district superintendents should move from the use of legitimate and coercive power bases and use export and referent power. A system of professional support for principals, independent of the Ministry of Education hierarchy, should be implemented at Education District level. A principal need not exhibit all of the levels of leadership in the proportions suggested by Sergiovanni (1984) to aspire to be the principal of an excellent school, so long as the aggregate of the leadership behaviour in the school includes leadership in all levels, in the proportions suggested. In situations where individuals are permitted by peers to exercise leadership roles, their behaviour will not be consistent with that suggested by Sergiovanni (1984), as constituting excellent leadership. Effective leadership is fluid. As subordinates expectations vary, as they become more familiar with the task, an effective leader will monitor the situation and make fine adjustments to exert the necessary coordinations, control and motivation of staff. Individuals in leadership positions will vary their behaviour in response to situations where there is actual conflict or the potential for conflict. Individuals in leadership positions will vary their behaviour to accommodate changes in their perception of the flexibility of the task. The potential for conflict exists when the cultural situation changes. This conflict will, most often, be between “tribal” groups created on the bases of social, shared and vested interests. In cases where the tasks traditionally performed at executive or managerial levels, such as by deputy principals, the individuals at that level will be subject to diminished legitimate power and become without roles.

The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the understanding and implementation of democratic leadership and management in schools by school managers and other members of the school community in leadership and management roles as advocated by the policy of Education for all. The study also aimed at identifying any gaps in the understanding and practice of the participants in order to enhance democratic leadership and management in schools. Qualitative research using the interpretive approach was the methodology employed in order to fulfill the intention of the study, namely to investigate the participants` experiences and understanding of democratic education leadership and management. The case study method was appropriate to understand the meanings the participants attached to their practice in their natural setting. Data were collected by using semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and observation. The sample for the study consisted of ten participants: the principal, the head of department, two School Board members, two senior teachers, two Learner Representative Council members and two class captains. The findings suggest that the participants understood and practised democratic ELM in terms of broader participation, open communication, delegation for empowerment, learning organisation, shared decision-making, shared leadership and teamwork. However, the data suggest areas of concern in the participants` understanding and implementation of the policy which could be strengthened to entrench the policy. The study recommends that education policy makers, education managers, school managers, teachers, parents and learners all work towards improving democratic ELM in schools. In order to achieve this objective, policy makers are urged to avoid ambiguity to enable all implementers to fully understand policies. Education managers could ensure school-wide training on the policy while school managers and other stakeholders should engage in self-reflection and introspection and be more proactive towards improving their own understanding and practice.

“Learning Agility in Action” presents a series of 10 real-world case studies examining how organizations have applied learning agility in their talent management and leadership practices. The cases are from a variety of organizations, ranging from school systems to healthcare organizations to Fortune 500 companies such as Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson. Organizations are based in the United States as well as in China and Australia. All of the case studies were written by practitioners. They identify how the concept of learning agility was introduced into their organizations, difficulties and pleasant surprises they experienced, and successes and drawbacks they have observed. It is hoped those lessons will provide a road map of best practices for readers in their journeys to implement learning agility in their talent management practices and organizational cultures.

The chapter discusses the problem of leadership and its understanding in various theories, and studies of technological changes in organization. On the basis of longitudinal case studies and applied analysis of HR practices, the changes in the personnel composition, products, and differences in the strategies of external communications with consumer of three Russian organizations—business school, consulting company, and dental clinic are investigated. It is shown that the strategy of reducing and hiring staff with inclusion in new social channels is the most effective. The image of new vision of organization and promising practices in managing people is described, taking into account the results obtained and the analysis of the history of business development, which are based on choice and development of both leader and staff in an informal structure and ability to self-renaissance of organization.

Ubuntu has implications that extend beyond the boundaries of the organization, promoting a strong sense of mutual dependence with the community. For educational leaders, Ubuntu implies strong connections with parents of students as well as the entire local population. The author of this chapter is an American who has worked in Senegal for 25 years and learned about Ubuntu in the context of educational leadership. Using enacted environment theory as a theoretical lens, this chapter uses four short case studies that illustrate how the author learned what educational leaders do to enact an environment for their schools in which Ubuntu values are evident. The lesson drawn from these accounts is that the value of external stakeholders must be seen with a long-term lens, and the dividends these relationships pay elude Western ideas of management. These case studies also identify concrete advantages that the external environment can provide for a school when its leaders have enacted the values of Ubuntu.

Although business students can learn about ethics through case studies and examples, this learning may not lead to future ethical behavior in ambiguous situations or unsupportive cultures. Business schools can incorporate an experiential component to ethics education by giving students the opportunity to work in an organization with integrity: the business school itself. As students begin to develop their professional identities, the business school can establish students’ expectations about how ethical people and organizations function. This supports students in developing professional identities that incorporate integrity. The authors recommend that business schools utilize the cognitive triangle of thoughts, feelings, and actions in developing a culture of integrity. Addressing all three of these components can help students avoid cognitive distortions that make them unable to recognize ethical dilemmas or render them unaware of the consequences of decisions and behaviors. The authors suggest using a portfolio of tactics to create a culture of integrity, including integrity codes and honor codes, policies and procedures, reporting mechanisms, consequences, symbols and ceremonies, top management support, faculty-student relationships, and open, truthful exchange. Unethical actions are more likely to occur in organizations with individualistic, egoistic climates, thus the challenge is to create a more collectivist, community orientation.

The Australian Catholic University (ACU National at www.acu.edu.au) is a public university funded by the Australian Government. There are six campuses across the country, located in Brisbane, Queensland; North Sydney, New South Wales; Strathfield, New South Wales; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT); Ballarat, Victoria; and Melbourne, Victoria. The university serves a total of approximately 27,000 students, including both full- and part-time students, and those enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Through fostering and advancing knowledge in education, health, commerce, the humanities, science and technology, and the creative arts, ACU National seeks to make specific and targeted contributions to its local, national, and international communities. The university explicitly engages the social, ethical, and religious dimensions of the questions it faces in teaching, research, and service. In its endeavors, it is guided by a fundamental concern for social justice, equity, and inclusivity. The university is open to all, irrespective of religious belief or background. ACU National opened its doors in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. The institutions that merged to form the university had their origins in the mid-17th century when religious orders and institutes became involved in the preparation of teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. As a result of a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities, and diocesan initiatives, more than twenty historical entities have contributed to the creation of ACU National. Today, ACU National operates within a rapidly changing educational and industrial context. Student numbers are increasing, areas of teaching and learning have changed and expanded, e-learning plays an important role, and there is greater emphasis on research. In its 2005–2009 Strategic Plan, the university commits to the adoption of quality teaching, an internationalized curriculum, as well as the cultivation of generic skills in students, to meet the challenges of the dynamic university and information environment (ACU National, 2008). The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) Program at ACU Canberra Situated in Australia’s capital city, the Canberra campus is one of the smallest campuses of ACU National, where there are approximately 800 undergraduate and 200 postgraduate students studying to be primary or secondary school teachers through the School of Education (ACT). Other programs offered at this campus include nursing, theology, social work, arts, and religious education. A new model of pre-service secondary teacher education commenced with the introduction of the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) program at this campus in 2005. It marked an innovative collaboration between the university and a cohort of experienced secondary school teachers in the ACT and its surrounding region. This partnership was forged to allow student teachers undertaking the program to be inducted into the teaching profession with the cooperation of leading practitioners from schools in and around the ACT. In the preparation of novices for the teaching profession, an enduring challenge is to create learning experiences capable of transforming practice, and to instill in the novices an array of professional skills, attributes, and competencies (Putnam & Borko, 2000). Another dimension of the beginning teacher experience is the need to bridge theory and practice, and to apply pedagogical content knowledge in real-life classroom practice. During the one-year Graduate Diploma program, the student teachers undertake two four-week block practicum placements, during which they have the opportunity to observe exemplary lessons, as well as to commence teaching. The goals of the practicum include improving participants’ access to innovative pedagogy and educational theory, helping them situate their own prior knowledge regarding pedagogy, and assisting them in reflecting on and evaluating their own practice. Each student teacher is paired with a more experienced teacher based at the school where he/she is placed, who serves as a supervisor and mentor. In 2007, a new dimension to the teaching practicum was added to facilitate online peer mentoring among the pre-service teachers at the Canberra campus of ACU National, and provide them with opportunities to reflect on teaching prior to entering full-time employment at a school. The creation of an online community to facilitate this mentorship and professional development process forms the context for the present case study. While on their practicum, students used social software in the form of collaborative web logging (blogging) and threaded voice discussion tools that were integrated into the university’s course management system (CMS), to share and reflect on their experiences, identify critical incidents, and invite comment on their responses and reactions from peers.