Welcome to this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings. In this series, we take a look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online catalogues, and Teacher archive content you might not have come across yet.
As a school leader, how would you describe your leadership characteristics? How did your induction support you in your transition to a leadership role? In our latest annual reader survey, we asked you what topics you’d like us to cover in 2026. The most requested topic was leadership. So, in this edition of 5 further readings, we're looking at leadership.
In the list below, you can read about induction programs for new school leaders, the metaphor of ‘mosaic’ leadership practices the characteristics of leaders in high-performing schools, and more.
- Transformative school leadership that privileges the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian education. In this paper – published in 2024 in the Australian Journal of Indigenous Education – author Antoinette Cole analyses and synthesises existing literature to identify how current school leadership approaches continue the maintenance of settler-colonial structures in Australian education, rather than support notions of Indigenous futurity. It also shares a tool for school leaders that supports critical self-reflection.
- Collaborating and distributing leading: mosaics of leading practices. Using metaphor of a mosaic of leadership practices, this paper explores different approaches to leadership in New Zealand, exploring the degree to which educators can collaborate through different patterns of distributing leading practices. ‘We use the idea [of mosaics] to leverage the notion that there are multiple parts, perspectives, and – most importantly – multiple practices that come together through an approach that recognises that shared social life is accomplished through the many connective enactments and collective accomplishments of different people’s practices.’
- Unveiling the ripple effect: How offensive behaviours impact school leaders’ productivity. Drawing on data from the Annual Principal Health and Wellbeing longitudinal survey and Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), this project aimed to determine if schools where principals experience high levels of offensive behaviours correlate with lower student performance, and vice versa. The researchers also conducted their own survey of school leaders which asked participants about their experiences of offensive behaviour and the impact of this behaviour on their work and productivity. Key findings include that a majority of leaders have encountered offensive behaviours in the past year, and that their commitment to their school and community remains strong. The paper also shares recommendations for change.
- Teams matter: Characteristics of senior leadership in high-performing Western Australian Catholic schools. This 2025 Western Australian study explored characteristics that principals, senior leadership team members, and middle leaders perceive as supporting the effective functioning of senior leadership teams. The findings show that these characteristics were: positive relationships, shared leadership, emotional intelligence, prioritising of vision and strategy, effective communication, availability to middle leaders, an improvement mindset and challenging events that provide a focal point for the school leadership team. The paper also presents a high performing Senior Leadership Team Framework.
- Improving induction: Part 2 – school leaders. There are many benefits of good induction for school leaders. This publication from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) outlines the 3 different ways educators may transition into a leadership role and explores evidence-informed practices to structure induction programs for new school leaders. Earlier this year, we sat down with AITSL CEO Tim Bullard to unpack this publication in detail in this podcast episode.
Some of the resources featured in this article can be found through Cunningham Library Catalogue and EdResearch Online. At the links below, you can search for more resources on the topic of school leadership in these 2 online databases.
You can also browse other education topics at this page.
