Parents appointing the principal: The experiences of four New Zealand primary school boards of trustees
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Citation
Export citationMorrison, M. (2013). Parents appointing the principal: The experiences of four New Zealand primary school boards of trustees. International Studies in Educational Administration, 41(3), 29–44.
Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/8946
Abstract
Universally motivated by altruism and the desire to serve their children’s schools well, locally elected parent representatives of New Zealand boards of trustees (BOTs) are charged with the responsibility of appointing the principal. This paper draws on semi-structured interviews with the chairpersons of four primary schools in two cities – two in affluent high decile areas and two in relatively disadvantaged low decile ones – in order to examine the perspectives and understandings that informed the board recruitment and selection process. Findings suggest that the appointment of a principal with the capacity to exercise highly effective, contextually specific educational leadership is more likely to occur in higher decile schools and is most needed in lower decile ones. The paper concludes that targeted support and a review of governance arrangements will be necessary for inequity in principal appointment processes to be addressed.
Date
2013Type
Publisher
Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management
Rights
This article is published in the journal: International Studies in Educational Administration. © 2013 CCEAM
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