Article

Educational Management
Administration & Leadership
The role of leadership in 2020, Vol. 48(5) 802–820
ª The Author(s) 2019

establishing a positive staff Article reuse guidelines:

culture in a secondary school sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/1741143219864937
journals.sagepub.com/home/ema

Julia E Morris , Geoffrey W Lummis, Graeme Lock,

Cath Ferguson, Susan Hill and Annette Nykiel

Abstract
This Australian case study explored the implementation of strategies to support the development
of a positive school culture among whole school staff. A participatory action research approach
was used to involve leadership staff in the development of a mixed method assessment of the
school organisation. Baseline data from the School Organisational Health Questionnaire (n ¼ 28)
and qualitative data from focus groups (n ¼ 15) were collected and presented to the leadership
team who identified four foci for the study: appraisal and recognition, participative decision-
making, professional growth and supportive leadership. After a range of interventions, findings
from both post-test surveys (n ¼ 22) and qualitative data (n ¼ 30) suggested a change in leadership
style was a key factor of school cultural change across all factors. The case study highlights a
number of visible strategies that were employed to increase morale and improve staff wellbeing.

Keywords
School culture, leadership, teacher wellbeing, participatory action research

Introduction
School leadership behaviours are consistently acknowledged as a core factor in influencing school
improvement (Leithwood, Aitken and Jantzi, 2006; Sigurðardóttir and Sigþórsson, 2016), and have
been linked to teachers’ emotions (Berkovich and Eyal, 2017) and wellbeing (Berkovich and Eyal,
2018). This Australian secondary school case study employed a Participatory Action Research
(PAR) design to explore staff school culture. The literature suggests that visible leadership (Austin
and Harkins, 2008a; Devos et al., 2013; Benoliel, 2018) leads to a strong school culture and the
ability to respond to staff needs and support ongoing development in school organisations. Their
actions are influential on school morale, culture and climate (Devos et al., 2013; Minckler, 2013).
However, there appears to be less literature on how to achieve positive school culture and climate
through active intervention.

Corresponding author:
Julia E Morris, School of Education, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027, Australia.
Email: [email protected]
Morris et al.: The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school 803

One issue that is identified in the literature is a conflation of the terms school morale (Guidetti
et al., 2015) and school culture with school climate (Maier, 2017): for example, the main instru-
ment used in this study, the School Organisational Health Questionnaire (SOHQ) (Hart et al.,
2000), measures school organisational climate through morale and a number of associated factors.
For the purposes of this research, we used the term school culture to mean the collective values and
beliefs of school staff, encompassing how these are enacted in practice (i.e. how the culture affects
school climate). This definition was applicable to this study as its focus was on the PAR process
and how strategies were implemented (i.e. the behaviours and practices introduced) in order to
shape the school culture.
Three research questions formed the basis of the study:

1. What factors contribute to the development of staff morale and the school organisational
climate?
2. What foci do school leadership staff view as being important for the development of a
positive school culture?
3. Does the attention paid to particular foci improve staff morale and the organisational
climate over time?

The aim of the project was to engage secondary school leaders in Participatory Action Research
in order to explore the research questions. Central to this study was the notion of supporting school
leaders to collect and use data to direct school change, critical to a school’s success in this
educational climate of increased accountability (Gurd, 2013).

Literature review
This literature review considers previous research in a number of areas: supportive leadership and
communication, professional growth, which affect staff morale and the school culture; as well as
data and accountability, which was a key reason for the case study school moving towards
evidence-based measures to justify interventions into their practices. The literature presented
draws on different studies in a number of countries using a variety of methods to identify issues
concerned with supporting positive school culture through interpersonal relationships (Austin and
Harkins, 2008a, 2008b).

Supportive leadership and communication

Hallinger (2018) notes the important role contextual factors play in the development of leadership
practice theories. Zhu et al.’s (2013) comparison of teachers in 44 Flemish and 40 Chinese schools
found that individual school contexts can cause differentiation in participative decision-making
and leadership, among other broader cultural factors. However, the notion of supportive leadership
as a general practice is consistently noted in the successful implementation of reform and changed
behavioural practices in schools (Leithwood, Aitken and Jantzi, 2006; Levin and Datnow, 2012;
Nguyen and Hunter, 2018), especially when they draw on staff’s collective strengths in collabora-
tive practices (Leithwood et al., 2007). An Australian study (Austin and Harkins, 2008a, 2008b)
also found that effective communication by a supportive and inclusive leadership is useful in
changing school organisational climates, but caution that collaboration takes time and may add
to workload stresses, and conflicts between diverse perspectives can threaten interpersonal
804 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

relationships. Nguyen and Hunter (2018) also consider the importance of interpersonal dynamics, as
the distribution of leadership changes the ‘status and normative roles of teacher leaders’ (p. 558).
In discussing Hong Kong public secondary schools, Walker et al. (2014) emphasise commu-
nication, professional development, the strategic use of resources, appraisal and recognition and
encouraging engagement in decision-making as important to school goals, accountability and
successful organisational change. They note that these leadership practices, and specifically com-
munication, account for significant differences in students’ academic outcomes, which was also
supported by Sebastian et al. (2017), Hallinger (2018), and Robinson, Lloyd and Rowe (2008).
Communication also has a substantial effect on teachers’ job satisfaction, with fairness of decisions
regarding work assignment (You et al., 2017) and the perception of fairness in teacher evaluation
and promotion (Liu et al., 2018) being three key areas where communication strategies make a
difference. Job satisfaction, as well as morale and wellbeing, also improve when staff feel that
principals have empathy and care (Van der Vyver et al., 2013). These factors have prompted
investigation into principals’ conversations with staff, emphasising reciprocity and trust as key
foundations for positive interpersonal relationships (Le Fevre and Robinson, 2014; Meyer, Le
Fevre and Robinson, 2017).

Professional growth
School leadership plays a significant role in staff members’ professional growth. The promotion of
staff learning (or lack thereof) is one factor that affects a school’s culture (Grosemans et al., 2015;
Kwakman, 2003). While teachers and other staff members may be individually motivated to
participate in professional learning, leadership practices can create a culture that shapes how
collaborative professionals are within the school context (Grosemans et al., 2015; Kwakman,
2003; Leithwood, Harris and Hopkins, 2008). It can also affect how diverse professional learning
is in the school, where some schools may focus on a whole-school approach to learning and others
may encourage more diversity between departments and individual staff members (Grosemans
et al., 2015).
Professional growth is also linked to supportive leadership, as opportunities for communication
and participative decision-making also develop staff as professionals. Austin and Harkins (2008a)
found that leadership was instrumental in creating learning practices that relate to a shared vision
and celebrating and recognising staff learning. Staff who feel safe and valued by leadership are
more likely to contribute to decision-making and embrace opportunities to contribute to the school
(Austin and Harkins, 2008a).

Data and accountability

Schildkamp et al. (2017) examined the extent, purposes and challenges of data use in schools for
evidence-based decision-making. Their study involving 1,073 teachers throughout the Netherlands
showed that schools make effective use of data with respect to accountability and school devel-
opment, but less so for classroom instruction. Schools in both the UK and USA have also expe-
rienced similar issues in terms of school accountability and its impact on staff and the school
community (Gurd, 2013; Sterrett and Irizarry, 2015), finding a need for evidence to contribute to
and justify decision-making at a school level.
The issue of school accountability has led to intensification of teachers’ roles, as they have
increased administrative work (De Nobile et al., 2013; Timms et al., 2007). Administrative and
Morris et al.: The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school 805

leadership staff are also required to maintain organisational standards compliant with national
bodies, and in Australia this includes reporting to the Australian Institute for Teaching and
School Leadership (AITSL) and state education departments (AITSL, 2011; Gonski et al.,
2011; Watterston and Caldwell, 2011). In a culture of accountability, the use of data has also
attracted the attention of researchers and supported school and university partnerships: for
example, the Principals as Literacy Leaders national Australian project (Dempster et al.,
2012) examined the role of principals in promoting children’s literacy development in their
schools, utilising research methods and researcher support to assist principals’ use of data in
promoting quality learning and teaching.

Methodology
Participatory Action Research (PAR) using surveys, interviews and focus groups was employed in
this research, underpinned by a case study approach (Sanders, 2016). The research was informed
by a constructivist epistemology, whereby the researchers worked across all organisational levels
of the school (leadership, teaching staff and support staff) in order to co-construct an understanding
of the school culture. PAR involves participants actively engaging in a cycle of identifying, acting
and reflecting to develop ‘practical knowing in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes’ (Reason
and Bradbury, 2001: 4), and in this research the researchers co-developed the interventions and
overall project with participants. The rationale for actively engaging participants in this process is
to encourage social change through critical self-reflection and transformative action (MacDonald,
2012; McIntyre, 2007; Stapleton, 2018).
In PAR, there is an emphasis on whose voices are being heard and how practical actions can be
implemented (James et al., 2008; Kemmis and McTaggart, 2007; Stapleton, 2018). The imple-
mentation of research findings occurs in a non-hierarchical and usually confidential setting within
a workplace situation, where participants make informed decisions to activate social change
through specific actions based on their own knowledge alongside the evidence (James et al.,
2008; MacDonald, 2012).

School context
The case study school is a metropolitan secondary school. It has been operating for the past 15
years, making it a relatively young school in the district. The staff at the school are predominantly
early career teachers (in their first 5 years), mentored by mid-career teachers with a small lead-
ership group (<10 staff). Both staff and student populations have low transience, with a predomi-
nantly Eurocentric demographic. However, the population in the area is growing and enrolments
are increasing. Three principals have led the school; however, the current principal was in the role
for approximately 6 months at the commencement of the research. Staff explained how the ‘new’
principal had a different leadership style to the previous principal and was very approachable as an
individual. However, many staff were apprehensive about the leadership change as resulted in
reforms to established school practices, partly as a consequence of the principal’s aspirations to
grow the school.

Research procedures
This research included three phases, with a summary of procedures provided in Table 1.
806 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

Table 1. Overview of research procedures.

Phase Duration Participants Data collection

One (pre-test) November 2015 – Leadership staff, school support SOHQ survey (all
March 2016 staff, teaching staff participant groups)
Focus groups (all
participant groups)
Two (intervention July 2016a – April Whole school Field notes
period) 2017 Workshop
documentation
Three (post-test) April – May 2017 Leadership staff, school support SOHQ survey (all
staff, teaching staff participant groups)
Focus group (leadership
staff)
a
Interventions were not introduced in term 2 (April–July 2016) as it is a reporting term and workload is already intensified
during this period.
SOHQ: School Organisational Health Questionnaire.

In the first phase baseline quantitative data were collected using the School Organisational
Health Questionnaire (SOHQ) (Hart et al., 2000). In accordance with the University’s Human
Research Ethics Committee approval and permission from the local education department, the
survey was made available online to all school personnel and data were collected anonymously.
The first phase quantitative data were supported by qualitative data collected through focus groups.
With the exception of the leadership team, these events were held at a location away from the
school to enable participants to speak freely and to avoid interruptions likely to occur if they were
in the work location. Each group comprised staff from the same category (leadership staff, teaching
staff or support staff) to minimise the potential for significant power differential among partici-
pants, and teaching and support staff attended on different days to maintain participant confidenti-
ality. All of the non-leadership participants were female, with aggregate data across the focus
groups presented to protect participants’ confidentiality when reporting back to the school. Each
focus group conducted was audio recorded and transcribed by an independent organisation.
In phase two, the school leadership team developed their own interventions based on the phase
one findings. They opted to focus the research on areas that had the lowest scores in the SOHQ,
substantiated by qualitative data. To support the development of the intervention, the researchers
arranged for a workshop to be conducted by a well-respected retired secondary school principal,
and the school leadership team chose a range of school staff to unpack the data as part of the
workshop and feedback potential phase two interventions. The leadership staff actively chose
diverse staff to participate in this workshop as staff-designed interventions were expected to
increase their potential success; decision-making styles of the leadership (Hariri et al., 2016) and
participative decision-making (James et al., 2008) improve teacher job satisfaction and change
implementation. Nguyen and Hunter (2018) discuss the relevance of using external consultants to
complement ‘professional development planned, implemented, and evaluated by teacher leaders’
(p. 540). The researchers attended the day and took field notes, and the facilitator provided
additional documentation from the workshop. The school leadership team took responsibility for
monitoring and recording the interventions so they could report on them during phase three and
refined the interventions with support from the staff who attended the workshop. In terms of
Morris et al.: The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school 807

appraisal and recognition, the leadership team implemented structures for formal recognition of
inspirational staff as well as seeking opportunities to bring staff together socially in order to build
morale, such as morning teas. Participative decision-making approaches were applied through a
new development process for the school business plan, and professional growth was enhanced
through a restructure of budget allocation as well as increased professional learning occurring on
school grounds. Leadership sought to be more visible and consultative in order to be viewed as
more supportive. All of the interventions were implemented for approximately 30 weeks prior to
post-intervention testing; however, many interventions were ongoing.
In the final phase, the research team conducted post-intervention testing to determine whether
the phase two activities played a role in improving the school culture. In phase three, the research-
ers again provided access to the SOHQ, on the same basis as phase one. Although not all the factors
in the SOHQ appeared important in this case study during phase one, it was decided to provide the
same instrument in case any significant differences were found between testing occasions. Reason
and Bradbury (2001) reiterate that the unexpected results of interventions are ‘one of the best
sources of cultural data’ (p. 276). Due to time constraints and low attendance at the phase one focus
groups – also noted as issues in conducting PAR (Reason and Bradbury, 2001) – qualitative data
were instead collected through two open-ended questions added to the SOHQ, to encourage
information from all school staff. This approach also mitigated the confidentiality and unequal
relationships ethical issues addressed in the phase one focus groups. However, the school leader-
ship team did complete a post-implementation focus group in order to provide qualitative data
about how the interventions worked for the school. Importantly, in order to minimise the issue of
power relationships, the principal was excluded from the focus group. This exclusion, which was
supported by the principal, enabled staff to talk freely without inhibition from the presence of their
senior colleague. The post-intervention focus group included questions about the initiatives put in
place across the areas identified in phase two of the process. Questions to guide the group
discussion included: What interventions were enacted since the workshop? How have they been
going? What has feedback from staff been like? The focus group was conducted by two of
the researchers. A digital recording of the focus group was transcribed, analysed and presented
as a thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) alongside the qualitative data collected through
the SOHQ.
It is important to note that, in order to protect participant confidentiality, school staff did not
take an active role in collecting data. However, they were involved in data analysis through the
phase two workshop, during which the facilitator supported the staff to unpack the data and
researchers’ analysis in order to make sense of it and shape potential interventions for this phase.
Other staff members were encouraged to read the baseline data report and talk to their colleagues in
order to give feedback about the interventions occurring in the school.

Instrumentation and analysis

The SOHQ measures teacher morale and school organisational climate and assesses a series of
organisational behaviour and human resource management issues within schools (Austin and
Harkins, 2008a; Hart et al., 2000). This instrument was designed to measure staff morale and
11 associated factors of school organisational climate: Appraisal and recognition; Curriculum
coordination; Effective discipline policy; Excessive work demands, Goal congruence; Participa-
tive decision-making; Professional growth; Professional interaction, Role clarity; Student orienta-
tion; and Supportive leadership. The SOHQ uses a scale of one to five with higher scores
808 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

representing better school health. The instrument was validated in Hart et al. (2000); the following
examples are indicative of the types of items in this instrument:

 Appraisal and recognition. I am regularly given feedback on how I am performing my role;

 Participative decision-making. There are forums in this school where I can express my
views and opinions;
 Professional growth. I am encouraged to pursue further professional development;
 Supportive leadership. The administration in this school can be relied upon when things get
tough.

This instrument has been employed in research across different disciplines and is recognised as
being relevant in different contexts (Austin and Harkins, 2008a; Neal et al., 2000). It has been used
in international research on teacher motivation (Burns and Machin, 2013) and in overall school
health in an economically challenged location (Austin and Harkins, 2008a). Sun and Stewart
(2007) employed this scale as part of their large research project examining resilience measures
in primary school settings. Subscales from the instrument have also been applied in recent research
(Austin and Harkins, 2008b; Gore et al., 2015).
Central tendency and distribution were computed on the data before Cohen’s d effect sizes were
used to determine the size of the difference between phase one and three. Cohen’s d was applied
since tests of significance on their own provide insufficient information about the magnitude of the
difference (Sullivan and Feinn, 2012). This approach is supported by the American Psychological
Association’s publication manual (2010). Cohen’s d (Cohen, 1992) indicates a small effect size
at .30; a medium effect at .50; and a large effect at .80.
The structure of the SOHQ was employed to develop semi-structured focus group questions for
both phases one and three. All focus groups were audio recorded and then transcribed. The
researchers conducted a thematic analysis of the transcripts, combining the data for all three focus
groups, until a schema of common themes emerged from the data. This analysis was then presented
alongside the quantitative findings, to further unpack and give context to the changes that occurred
as a result of the interventions. In phase three, only the school leadership staff participated in a
focus group. Qualitative data from teachers and support staff were collected through the survey,
and consequently, these data were added to the leadership data after transcription and prior to the
thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006).

Results
The quantitative findings from the phase one and three SOHQ surveys are outlined in Table 2. Only
eight of the 11 scales returned reliability scores (a < .70) that allowed further analyses to be
conducted, so central tendency and effect sizes were only calculated for these scales. These eight
factors appeared to be consistently contributing to the development of staff morale and the school
organisational climate for this case study school.
There were small sample sizes in both phases, with the sample comprising approximately 40%
of the school staff in both phases. While the participation rate may seem relatively low, the total
school population includes staff on short-term contracts and those who do not work during school
hours (e.g. cleaners). Given their employment situation, these staff are less likely to see the benefit
of engaging in a research project on school culture. The responses to the post-test were only
Morris et al.: The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school 809

Table 2. Pre and post scores for eight scales of the SOHQ (Hart et al., 2000).

Pre-test (Phase 1) Post-test (Phase 3)

n ¼ 28 n ¼ 22

a Mean SD Mean SD Cohen’s d

Morale .88 2.73 .68 3.33 0.73 .85

Appraisal and recognition* .82 2.89 .83 3.00 1.00 .12
Curriculum coordination .80 3.46 .91 3.38 0.87 .09
Excessive work demands .86 2.77 .81 3.00 1.00 .26
Goal congruence .73 3.31 .69 3.60 0.82 .39
Participative decision-making* .88 2.54 .85 3.00 1.09 .48
Professional growth* .88 2.59 .99 2.86 1.01 .27
Supportive leadership* .82 2.72 .85 3.52 1.12 .82

*denotes factors that were selected for phase two intervention.

SOHQ: School Organisational Health Questionnaire.

inclusive of participants who had given consent during the phase one research, with statistics
computed where cases could be matched.
As the SOHQ is scored from one to five, higher scores indicate healthier situations. The results
from the case study school indicate increases across most factors ranging from small to large effect
sizes; and although curriculum coordination shows some decline, the effect size is negligible.
However, the items within excessive work demands are phrased differently to those in the other
factors and as a result the mean score is in opposition to the other results. In this factor, the small
increased mean for phase three indicates a small increase in work demands with a corresponding
small negative impact on overall school health (Stapleton, 2018). Regardless of these two negative
trends, the positive effect on staff morale was large (d ¼.85), indicating an overall improvement in
morale.
A positive change was observed on all four factors that were selected for the phase two
intervention, although the effect size of these changes varied. Based on the phase one pre-test
findings, the school leadership staff decided to intervene in appraisal and recognition, participative
decision-making, professional growth and supportive leadership. These formed the basis of the
phase two intervention workshops, and small strategies were applied within the school that aimed
to improve the scores on these scales. Negligible to large effect sizes were found across all four
factors, with the smallest effect for appraisal and recognition (d ¼ .12) and the largest effect for
supportive leadership (d ¼ .82).
In order to understand how and why the improvement occurred for each of the four factors
chosen, qualitative data were collected on both pre- and post-test occasions. The sections below
outline aggregated responses from staff across three groups: leadership staff, teaching staff and
support staff. In the pre-test an additional 15 staff took part in focus groups; however, more
qualitative responses were collected on the post-test occasion (n ¼ 30).

Appraisal and recognition

Appraisal and recognition had the smallest improvement overall. The pre-test data showed that
staff responded ambivalently or negatively to the items in this scale, which included statements
810 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

about work performance (e.g., ‘I have the opportunity to discuss and receive feedback on my work
performance’). However, in the phase three post-test there were marginally fewer negative
responses and most participants’ responses tended toward ambivalence (indicated in the mean
difference þ.11).
Core issues identified by the staff in phase one included a lack of appraisal for teaching
staff beyond mandated performance management activities. Some staff explained that ‘[our]
only feedback is from the students’ and we ‘don’t see [struggling staff] getting the skills they
need’. Staff also consistently stated the lack of social opportunities for staff to recognise each
other’s successes.
The phase three data showed a number of interventions around recognition that were apparent to
the whole staff. There were more examples of opportunities for acknowledgement of staff:

Every week we are asked to nominate staff . . . through a survey monkey . . . who [are] inspirational . . .
who go above and beyond.
[Staff are being congratulated for] doing a good job . . . not just from the Executive, but [other
staff ] . . . that’s been really powerful . . . everybody is aware that what they’re getting is getting
acknowledgement and they can get acknowledgement from everybody in the staff.

In addition, the school’s parent interview evening was an opportunity for staff recognition,
during which the staff were well catered for in terms of breaks and food. It was deemed as a simple
acknowledgement, but highly valued: ‘The last parent evening was evidence of this – the mood of
teaching staff was calm, collected and chirpy.’ While there was positive feedback in terms of
recognition, the participants did not identify significant changes in staff appraisal, and this could be
one reason for the marginal change in this factor overall.

Participative decision-making
There was a small-medium effect size (d ¼ .47) on participative decision-making, and while there
was greater variance in the phase three data, the mean score had increased (þ.44). In phase one, the
focus groups elicited emotive data about decision-making processes in the school. Staff stated: ‘It
just gets made and then we’re told’ and ‘sometimes decisions are already made and it’s a process of
false consultation.’ However, even in phase one, staff did note that the current school principal had
an open-door policy that was different to past principals and indicated to staff that they could raise
issues with the principal directly.
In phase three, the data from focus groups changed considerably. The staff explained how the
research itself had been the catalyst for improved decision-making processes: ‘Yes, the leadership
team made significant changes to all four areas and ensure all staff have been part of the change.’
A notable comment was made about the school’s business plan: ‘Staff were consulted . . . and [the
plan has] been sharpened as a result of the consultation . . . [we produced a] visual in every staff-
room [to share changes].’ The staff explained that as more people were consulted ‘people push in
the same direction’, which allowed for consensus decision-making. However, staff noted that there
was still further improvement to be made. There was still some disagreement around timetable
decisions, although staff explained this was unlikely to be resolved: ‘Timetabling – I don’t know
whether we will ever agree, but there isn’t a perfect timetable and compromises must be made. There
is a lot of thought that goes into the timetable.’
Morris et al.: The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school 811

Professional growth
There was a small effect size (d ¼ .37) for the professional growth scale and while there was not a
great change in mean scores (þ.37) more staff were ambivalent to the statements in phase three
compared to the higher levels of disagreement in phase one. In explaining the support for profes-
sional growth, the focus group data from phase one emphasised a number of issues. First, internal
promotion was not seen to be merit based: ‘it’s not open to the staff to put their hand up . . . so-
meone will just get tapped on the shoulder.’ Due to the small population of the school it was not
always possible for staff to gain a breadth of experiences to support them in applying for external
promotion to other schools and, as a consequence, there was a feeling that staff were stagnant in
their development. Second, applying for professional learning was seen as a key issue. The lengthy
administration process for applying for professional learning caused staff to miss opportunities to
enrol in courses. Budgetary constraints also limited staff opportunities, as they were not always
allocated teacher release in order to attend workshops. Consequently, many staff were engaging in
weekend professional learning, some of which was self-funded.
By the time of the phase three focus groups it was evident that professional learning had been
initiated by the leadership group to focus directly on managing student behaviour in general, and
more specifically classroom behaviour. Staff were provided with 3-hour courses as well as one-on-
one mentoring for individual teachers, an approach that involved a great deal of planning and
teacher release as part of the school-wide initiative. The participants valued the significant com-
mitment to professional learning, especially through a whole-school approach that was open to
everyone:

I would like to say and in terms of managing behaviour and classroom behaviour, we’ve actually had a
whole school approach . . . [I see] classroom management strategies that work . . . every individual staff
has been . . . inducted here . . . conferenced . . . in the short time I’ve been in my position.
A lot [has been done] to support staff with behaviour management with students at school. That’s a
huge commitment . . . it’s not usually done as a whole school . . . normally there’s only 10 people or less
go . . . every single staff member has had this professional [learning].

Another aspect discussed regarding professional growth was budget allocation, and in most
areas the participants disclosed that implementation was equitable and transparent. Areas that
received more funding included Mathematics and English, as these are considered to be priority
learning areas in the community. However, the staff spoke about a democratic and transparent
approach to budgeting:

You’re always going to have different levels of budgeting . . . [because] core subjects are always going
to have [more] levels . . . I think that’s a decision made by senior management . . . we get a printout of
everyone’s [budget] what they have . . . it’s transparent . . . And the subjects are now related to the
number of students that actually sit the subjects.

However, staff identified a further need for professional learning in interacting with other staff,
and specifically in having ‘difficult conversations’:

You can have some really unusual things that you do need to deal with . . . having that conversation with
someone, a colleague . . . or within a team, that you have to work with and have a really personal close
relationship with, and then have to have a really hard, difficult conversation with them, that takes more
812 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

skill than working with the kids because staff is probably the hardest thing to deal with when it goes
wrong. It affects everybody in the team. So, I think we need to acknowledge that. We could probably
use some more training.

A minority of staff also discussed how staff release was still an issue, even in spite of the whole-
school professional learning: ‘Internal reliefs are becoming a big issue and it puts teachers under
serious stress which we do not need.’ While teaching release was seen as positive, when release
means other teachers cover classes internally there is an increase in staff workload that can have
negative impacts.

Supportive leadership
There was a large effect size (d ¼.70) for supportive leadership, with a substantial increase in this
factor from phase one to phase three (mean score difference þ.67). Two core issues were raised in
the phase one focus groups to explain significant unease in this factor. First, the community was
not being maintained by the leadership team, evidenced as ‘developing [community] is left to the
individual to control . . . leadership are busy on the phone, doing something else’; second, the
leadership team were perceived to be supportive and were increasing workload and stress for
staff, ‘they’ve lost some trust . . . morning tea . . . that is a social thing . . . the executive keep turning
it into another meeting . . . lately staff are deciding not to go.’
In the phase three focus groups there was agreement that the school’s senior and executive
staff had become more visible since the commencement of the research, talking to students
and staff. There was a greater perception of leadership staff as collaborative overall: ‘I’ve
been here since the start of the school year . . . I’ve seen senior staff going around monitoring
the impact of the [building program] . . . speaking to the students, speaking to the
staff . . . collaboration is evident.’

Morale
The positive comments about leadership also related to staff morale, overall. Where staff had
commented that all group occasions were becoming ‘staff meetings’, opportunities for social
gatherings had been re-established by the leadership team in order to improve morale. Staff
focus group data from phase three showed consensus of ‘a history of being very collegial and
going to events after school. That seemed to wane off for a while, but now we’re bringing
things back.’ School staff estimated participation in these events as 40% to 50% of the school
population.

We’ve also got a couple of [social] things . . . people on the social committee who work really hard-
they’ve brought in [a] little spinning wheel . . . we do raffles . . . there is a ‘bunky prize’ . . . your wine,
your chocolate and then someone gets the dud. It’s a bit of humour . . . they have the spin wheel which is
$10 in and they have prizes . . . the staff are actually getting into that sort of carnival atmosphere . . . and
that all helps to raise morale.

These types of activities were having a positive impact on staff, who noticed: ‘There has been a
noticeable difference to morale – mostly driven by the social committee and leadership team,
increased number of social functions and the implementation of staff appreciations.’
Morris et al.: The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school 813

Discussion
There were eight factors that contributed to staff morale and school organisational climate in this
case study school. The phase one data indicated morale at the school was low, showing clear
areas that would benefit from attention during the phase two intervention period. The eight
factors that measured reliably across staff (Table 2) were supported by evidence in the focus
group discussions in order to determine the specific areas that would be addressed by this
research. Four of these factors were selected by the leadership teams as being important foci
for the development of positive school culture; namely, appraisal and recognition, participative
decision-making, professional growth and supportive leadership. These four factors had some of
the lowest mean scores in the phase one survey data, and their selection was triangulated and
supported by the qualitative data.
The phase three results showed that most staff responded positively to the changes made in the
school. The most significant change was to the perception of leadership staff within the school.
Devos et al. (2013) and Benoliel (2018) discuss the importance of visible leadership in establishing
a positive school culture; a notion reinforced in this case study. While the phase one data indicated
that the principal’s open-door policy helped to construct a perception of the leadership staff as
approachable, the absence of leadership staff outside of their offices had resulted in a disconnec-
tion with the rest of school staff. After the intervention phase, participants commented on increased
visibility of the leadership team, particularly as they actively consulted staff on the implementation
of interventions in the school during phase two. Consequently, visible leadership also appeared to
have an effect on improving the level of participation in decision-making. Highly evident in this
case was the critical role of leadership staff in establishing and actively driving school change with
school staff, consistent with Nguyen and Hunter (2018) who discuss the important role of teacher-
leaders in increasing the ownership and uptake of school reform and Leithwood et al. (2007) who
discuss the need to draw on collective strengths of school staff as a function of good leadership.
Participative decision-making had the second largest improvement in the study, although qua-
litative data showed close connections between the leadership and decision-making factors. The
PAR method employed in this study was a catalyst for the broader involvement of staff in decision-
making, as the development of interventions based on the phase one data presented an opportunity
for staff consultation. Unlike a more traditional ‘top-down’ implementation of interventions (Veu-
gelers and Zijlstra, 2005), this case study school opted to have teachers and support staff attend the
phase two development workshop where interventions were devised based on the report’s findings.
The leadership staff were cognisant that the staff should unpack the data and take ownership of the
school’s involvement in the research without feeling coerced by leadership. This approach sup-
ported the notion of principals’ communicative connection between educational reforms and the
realities of teaching and school practices (Walker et al., 2014), as it afforded staff with an oppor-
tunity to think about realistic interventions grounded in their everyday experiences. It could have
also acted as a significant event in changing staff attitudes, as they felt that past decisions (prior to
phase two) were made with a process of false consultation. The diversity of the workshop
attendees was also an opportunity for professional learning as many staff members had no prior
opportunities to participate in school-level planning. Consequently, decision-making was linked to
professional growth because the staff were developed as individuals when they contributed to
collaborative decision-making (Austin and Harkins, 2008b), with leadership having a key role in
establishing this culture (Leithwood et al., 2008). The phase three data consistently outlined how
814 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

the whole school was involved in the project and the interventions, suggesting that even those who
did not participate in the research were involved in the changes made by the school.
Professional growth was a substantial issue for staff at the school. With a mean score of 2.59
(SD ¼ .99) in phase one, the staff clearly and consistently disagreed that they had opportunities for
ongoing professional learning. However, the staff engaged in whole-school professional learning
on classroom management as part of the intervention phase. The breadth of staff involved in this
experience is likely to have contributed to the overall improvement in morale as whole-school
professional learning contributes to the shared vision of a school (Grosemans et al., 2015) and the
promotion of staff learning affects a school’s culture (Kwakman, 2003). Importantly, this case
study supports the findings of Austin and Harkins (2008a) and Leithwood et al. (2007) regarding
organisational learning in schools and the instrumental role of leadership in creating a common
vision, evidenced here in the leadership team’s decision to invest in whole-school professional
learning to support a common issue for their teachers. As noted in the focus groups, many schools
only send a few key staff members to professional learning; in contrast, this school opted to include
this learning experience for every staff member, including in the induction of new staff to the
school.
Appraisal and recognition had the smallest improvement of all the factors selected for the phase
two intervention. One possible reason for the small statistical change is the wording of the items.
While the items more consistently focus on feedback on work performance, the qualitative data for
this factor showed that the school had focused on increased recognition of staff rather than on
changing formal work appraisal procedures. The staff explained that there were frequent oppor-
tunities to nominate inspirational staff members for acknowledgement, and also noted the suppor-
tive role of leadership in publicly acknowledging these staff at events. Leadership not only verbally
recognised their staff, they also acted in ways that made staff feel valued: for example, the focus
group data highlighted how providing catering for staff at parent-teacher nights improved morale
during the event and was recognition of their hard work during the year. While recognition is
highly important in enhancing staff morale (Willis and Varner, 2010); Walker et al. (2014) discuss
the importance of appraisal to staff accountability. Given the increased accountability in contem-
porary education (Gurd, 2013), it is equally important to consider how staff can best receive and
enact constructive feedback on their work, in addition to recognising their positive achievements.
Although each factor of school culture was individually addressed in phase two planning
documents, the phase three data showed many connections between the interventions implemented
and staff morale. Morale significantly increased in the school, with the largest effect size in the
study. The focus group discussion for morale showed that the staff were more collegial, not only
professionally but also socially. The consensus from the qualitative data was that the reinstated
Social Committee played a large role in this change due to implementing a range of social
activities. This type of social capital was identified by Devos et al. (2013) as important to school
culture. While it was noted that the Social Committee (made up of staff) meant extra workload, the
benefits of these activities resulted in a committee whose members were positive about the impact
they were making and the committee’s sustainability. This finding is consistent with Burns and
Machin (2013), who suggest the negative impacts of extra workload may be outweighed by the
positive aspects of improved organisational characteristics, particularly when they are seen as ‘real
action’ in an environment (Stapleton, 2018: 16). The notion of a shared vision was also common in
the phase three data, especially in leadership co-designing the school’s vision with the school staff.
The general improvement in awareness about vision in this study is consistent with investigations
Morris et al.: The role of leadership in establishing a positive staff culture in a secondary school 815

into the role of direction setting (Sun and Leithwood, 2015) and is also likely to have enhanced
collegiality between staff.

Limitations of the research

Working within a PAR process, the researchers maintained notes about the school during the
period of the research. These field notes included documentation of a new building program at
the school that was negotiated during the study, which resulted in additional workload for the staff.
Whilst there were intersections between the building program and this research, namely in the
consultation of staff (participative decision-making) and improvement in the school environment
(likely to contribute to staff morale), it put pressure on resource distribution to meet the needs of
both projects.
The heavy workload may have reduced participation in surveys (Reason and Bradbury, 2001).
Field notes suggested workload was an issue in completing either surveys or focus groups for some
participants. There were a limited number of responses in the phase three survey, which was
opened 39 times but only provided 22 usable responses. This might suggest that although people
were interested in completing the survey, they were interrupted and did not return to it due to time
constraints (noted as a limitation of PAR by Reason and Bradbury (2001)). It is important to note
that family and childcare also inhibited focus group attendance for some individuals as the focus
groups were conducted outside of school hours to maintain participant confidentiality. Interest-
ingly, given the aforementioned, work demands was not mentioned as an issue by participants and
only marginally increased in the phase three data (d ¼ .26). Stapleton (2018) comments that
increased workloads caused by participatory research may not be seen as an issue if staff feel
valued and well supported in self-initiated projects with the potential to enact social change, and
this could be a factor in the small increase seen in this sample.

Significance of the study

As a result of the small sample size and the case study approach used, the results are highly
contextual. Yet, as Hallinger (2018) emphasises, context is an essential factor when investigating
leadership and school change. The role of leadership to effect change across three factors of school
culture (appraisal and recognition, participative decision-making and professional growth) is cru-
cial, and this case provides some strategies for other leaders who are looking to improve staff
morale and develop collegiality through re-considering a school’s shared vision. In addition, this
case study provides an example of PAR to gather evidence for school development, particularly in
broadening consultation with staff when changes occur that affect their work or community, and in
developing a leadership team who are willing to listen and act on staff consultation. This method
appears to have positive implications for change implementation in schools.

Conclusions
PAR is a cyclical process that may include multiple cycles of identifying the issue, acting upon it
and reflecting on the outcome. This case study shows the benefits of using evidence-based mea-
sures to change school leadership practices. While the use of data has led to increased adminis-
trative load on schools (De Nobile et al., 2013; Timms et al., 2007) this study demonstrated the
positive effects of the engaging in PAR to facilitate school cultural change within a 12-month
816 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

intervention period, with data providing the impetus for reflection. While this case study occurred
over a relatively short period of time, substantial changes were reported by school staff and were
supported by significant effect sizes from the quantitative data. School staff believed the school
leadership were intent on maintaining the processes started during the research, and this was a
positive finding in relation to the research implementation aim of the study.
The leadership group’s action on the foci determined by the school staff who attended the phase
two workshop was evident in the data; rather than a ‘top-down’ approach, they acted on the
direction of the diverse school staff who examined the phase one data. In this case, the leadership
staff actively listened to their staff and allowed the data to direct the study rather than other
competing agendas. The inclusivity of staff in this study is likely to be a contributing factor to
the positive change, as there was shared ownership of the research and the opportunity for signif-
icant collaboration by school staff. This case study adds to the body of work on the role of
leadership in rebuilding school culture and supporting staff wellbeing.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or pub-
lication of this article.

Funding
The authors received financial support from the Edith Cowan University’s Industry Collaboration Scheme for
this research.

ORCID iDs
Julia E Morris https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-8050
Susan Hill https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1833-2500

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Author biographies
Dr Julia E Morris is a senior lecturer and course coordinator for visual arts education (secondary)
in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, and an honorary fellow at the University of
Melbourne, Australia. Her main research interests include engagement and evaluation in applied
education research, with an emphasis on developing and utilising evidence-based measures to
improve educational practice.

Associate Professor Geoffrey W Lummis (PhD) is a researcher in the School of Education

at Edith Cowan University, Australia. Geoff is the Chair of a Perth secondary school board
and has collaborated with State Government ministers on local education projects. Geoff has
also taught preservice education for over 30 years and has doctorate is in sustainability and
interests in evolutionary epistemology and aesthetics. His interdisciplinary interests include
the Arts, Humanities and STEM in education. Geoff has presented his research at both
national and international conferences and has over 30 higher degree by research
completions.

Associate Professor Graeme Lock is an associate dean in the School of Education at Edith Cowan
University, Australia. His research interests include educational leadership, rural and remote
education and student experiences at university.
820 Educational Management Administration & Leadership 48(5)

Dr Catherine Ferguson is an experienced multidisciplinary researcher, currently a senior research

fellow in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Australia. Her research interests
include multi-cultural competence, the transition experience of commencing students in higher
education, and organisational behaviour in the context of school management and leadership.

Dr Susan Hill is a senior research fellow at Edith Cowan University, Australia, and has worked on
a range of education and training related programs and research projects in universities and public
sector settings. Previously a research advisor at Edith Cowan University for more than 15 years,
she continues to work closely with staff and postgraduate students to build research capacity.

Dr Annette Nykiel has wide experience in science, visual art and cultural studies. An interdisci-
plinary practice-led researcher, she has interests in relational, participatory action and arts-based
research approaches to pedagogy. She is currently working as a research assistant on a range of
projects in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Australia.