Abstract
From 2016, all Western Australian schools were mandated to implement the National Quality Standard (NQS) in Kindergarten through to Year 2. Over the first year of implementation, this mandate had varying degrees of success in adoption. This study examined four schools which were identified as having implemented the NQS. A qualitative methodology was employed to examine those factors that supported implementation. A key finding was the integral role played by distributed leadership in adopting new initiatives. Using Activity Theory to conceptualise the data, it was found that psychological ownership was a key factor in enabling distributed leadership. Ownership was enabled when community differences were acknowledged, and time was given for the NQS tool to be reassessed and reconfigured as one’s own. Once staff had psychological ownership, they were more likely to support implementation of the NQS. This study has implications for leaders and those implementing the NQS or other initiatives in schools.
RAS ID
35929
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2022
Volume
49
Funding Information
Edith Cowan University - Open Access Support Scheme 2021
Department of Education Western Australia
School
School of Education
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publisher
Springer
Comments
Kirk, G., & Barblett, L. (2022). Implementing the national quality standard in schools: Leadership that motivates improvement initiatives through psychological ownership. The Australian Educational Researcher, 49(2), p. 367-385.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00446-8