Ross Notman

Intrapersonal factors in New Zealand school leadership success

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to share New Zealand findings from the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) which relate to intrapersonal dimensions of leadership that promote principals’ sustained success over time.Design/methodology/approach – Multi‐site case study methods were used to describe the ongoing success of ten educational leaders, using ISSPP qualitative protocols for data gathering and cross‐case inductive analysis.Findings – Findings identified the following influential intrapersonal factors that impacted positively on principals’ leadership behaviours over time: their physical, mental and intellectual well‐being; their levels of resiliency; and critical self‐reflection.Practical implications – In light of these research findings, it is argued that these intrapersonal factors of a successful principalship are optimised when supported by an external agent.Originality/value – First, there are few research studies that have investigated how school principals mai...

Seismic Leadership, Hope, and Resiliency: Stories of Two Christchurch Schools Post-Earthquake

This article takes the form of a research report which examines personal resiliency and a sense of hope among educational leaders in times of extreme crises. Findings indicated that, despite the trauma of an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, school leaders were still able to find satisfying aspects in their jobs, and to display a range of coping strategies and positivity as their schools transition toward a state of “new normal.”

Professional Identity, Adaptation and the Self: Cases of New Zealand School Principals during a Time of Change.

There is developing interest in how professional identity can support educational leaders’ management of change. This article explores the conceptualisation and interplay of identity formation with adaptive and contingent forms of educational leadership. The article draws on qualitative data obtained from two New Zealand school principals and significant others, as each principal negotiated their way through the beginnings of a second principalship and associated change processes. Findings from this first year of a three-year study identified influential factors within each principal’s personal, and professional identities. A comparison of findings with the respective literatures revealed a potential fusion between identity formation and concepts within the broad fields of adaptive and values-based contingency leadership.

Developing school leaders: an international perspective

Taylor and Francis CJEH_A_403629.sgm 10.1080/00220620903034568 Journal of Educational Administration and History 0 22-0620 (pri t)/1478-7431 (online) Book Reviews 2 09 & Fran is 41 3 000 ugust 0 N rottamBhi d nbhi di@uo .edu.au Developing school leaders: an international perspective, edited by Mark Brundrett and Megan Crawford, London, Routledge, 2008, 197 pp., £85.00 (hardback), ISBN 9780415435727