Game changers

The Australian education context is arguably experiencing its most critical junction since the adoption of mass schooling. We have seen the implementation of a national testing regime, a forthcoming national curriculum, the My School website, and the professional standards movement, just to name a few. Of particular relevance for school leaders is Julia Gillard's commitment to the roll out of school autonomy by 2018. All of these developments have a significant influence on the day-to-day work of school leaders. For this piece, I am going to pick up on some issues I raised previously about the state of school leadership preparation and development (ER, March 2011) and relate that to what I see as the core role of the school leader, public intellectualism.