Key Stakeholders' Perceptions of Effective School Leadership

There has been limited research on how teachers, parents and students perceive effective school leadership in practice. The purpose of this article is to present some of the findings derived from a study of key stakeholders' perceptions of effective school leadership. Key stakeholders were identified as teachers, students and parents. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from one large girl's school in Sydney, Australia. This research relied largely upon interview responses from teachers, students and parents of one Catholic school. While further insight into the issues may require a longitudinal data that describe perceptions from a substantial number of schools over time, studying one school provided a deeper and detailed understanding of key stakeholders' perceptions. Findings highlight the complexity of school leadership practices. Key stakeholders' in this study have also provide us with a useful emphasis on core school leadership dimensions, which they associate with effective school outcomes and improvement. These include administration, responsibility to ensure quality teaching and learning and relational leadership. Stakeholders answers to the question of what makes principals effective and which principal behaviours are most consistent with school effectiveness and improvement provides principals with an important knowledge base for practice.