Blogs

• the changing nature of leadership: Leadership is a mosaic, not a linear path. It’s about understanding what leading enables us to do. What impact are we having and how do we know?

• diversity in leadership: Success is amplified by diversity in leadership. Highlighting voices from across the country, we celebrate the many ways to enact leadership effectively, recognising the unique perspectives from all sectors and educational settings. How do we acknowledge and celebrate diversity and the different ways of successfully enacting leadership?

• emerging, middle, and other levels of leadership: Through initiatives like ACELearn and our collaborative approach to delivering our first Middle Leadership Summit, we aim to connect professionals nationally, empowering educators and sparking intellectually stimulating conversations. How do we continue to curate, illuminate and share professional stories and expertise?

• sustainable leadership: Our “Live Well, Lead Well” emphasis addresses the critical need for leaders to sustain themselves to nurture positive learning communities. Importantly, how do we ensure our approach is holistic, ubiquitous and sustaining?

• NextGen leadership: Our NextGen initiative empowers early- career educators, providing mentorship and agency to shape the future. With a focus on reimagining education and dismantling boundaries, we look forward to the insights this group will bring. How do we encourage and support others to determine their own leadership identity, making the role uniquely their own?
  

And now to what’s in the first issue. We have three excellent but very different lead articles to start us off for the new year. The first by Fenwick English is a reprinted chapter published 26 years’ ago. It describes a futuristic school (one set in 2088) that is a dramatic departure from what we understand by schools today. As the author says, “If your mind can imagine something, it can happen in the future.” The second lead paper by David Gurr, Nada Jarni and Adam Taylor explores the importance of leaders adopting a “future’s mindset” and they put forward two models that should help leaders think about, plan for, and navigate the complex and challenging times that lie ahead. The third lead paper by Tanya Fitzgerald and Wei Zhang provides an interesting angle on future leadership.

The authors argue for a re-evaluation of the criteria used for the recruitment and appointment of educational leaders that moves away from an individual focus towards more relational and context criteria. Lisa Rodgers is our special interviewee in this issue. Lisa was recently appointed as CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Research and will be familiar to many of you as she has held a number of high- profile leadership roles in Australia and New Zealand.

A key argument in each of the three general articles is the necessity for collective and collaborative work for leadership now and in the future. Anthony Boys and colleagues underscore the role of strategic leading that emphasises collective efficacy while Anne Knock explores complexity through co-designing and enabling constraints to transform schools. The article by Sally Towns explores the promise of adaptive leadership to navigate change in schools.

Two of the success stories are concerned with the power of coaching to bring about learning, change, and growth in educators. Elle Smith’s paper considers peer coaching as a form of professional learning to build resilience in middle leaders while Campbell McKay and colleagues reimagine instructional coaching through the lens of co- agency. The third success story by Toby Russo and Bec Spink discusses the groundwork and research they undertook to help them shape the culture and learning environment of a new primary school they will lead in 2025.

Change as a constant is discussed by Sara Ratner in her leadership challenge. The leadership challenge posed by Suzan Healy concerns the necessity of a strategic mindset for principals if they are to meet the ongoing challenges in the future. Our final challenge by Grant Lewis reminds us of the centrality of stories in our work as educational leaders.

Optimism, innovation, and resilience reinforce ACEL’s strong value of connectedness within our vibrant community. We move into 2025 with a sense of buoyancy and confidence, ready to embrace new ways of operating, fostering rich engagement, and building thoughtful partnerships that promise even greater things to come.

Starting with this issue, the Australian Educational Leader (AEL) will transition to an exclusively digital format. This decision stems from our dedication to better serving you, our valued members, while embracing modern practices that prioritise environmental sustainability, enhanced convenience, and sound financial stewardship. By making this shift, we ensure that ACEL can continue to adapt and thrive in an ever-evolving world, delivering exceptional value and relevance to our community. What this means for you:

• Instant Access: Enjoy immediate access to the latest editions anytime, anywhere, on your preferred devices.

• Eco-Friendly Impact: Together, we’re reducing our carbon footprint and supporting a healthier planet.

• Enhanced Features: Enjoy interactive elements such as clickable references, easy navigation, and search capabilities.

We understand that this marks a shift from tradition, and we are here to support you in making the transition seamless. Should you have any questions or require assistance accessing the digital editions, our dedicated team is ready to help.

And in closing, leadership is a practice, and in pursuing our collective purpose we are reminded that together is always better. Here’s to a year filled with growth, connection, and success.

All the best for a wonderful year ahead.