Working together to enhance school outcomes: an Australian case study of parallel leadership

Abstract

This paper reports on the emerging organisational outcomes of a whole school improvement project – IDEAS (Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievements in Schools)engaged in by a large Australian secondary school. Prior to IDEAS the school had enjoyed a favourable reputation in the community and although still considered a successful school the internal pressures for change were becoming increasingly evident. The newly appointed principal saw a once innovative school struggling and in need of a process that would help the school community work through issues and to decide on a clear direction for the future. IDEAS engages the whole school in transforming processes and this paper relates the experience of the engagement with IDEAS from two perspectives. The principal provides one perspective with the other coming from the teacher-led IDEAS school management team (ISMT). Both the principal and the teacher group report on the whole school benefits from the experience.