Challenges and enablers encountered by a curriculum leadership team in implementing the national curriculum in one Australian school

Research on school leaders’ implementation of national curricula is scant worldwide. The findings presented in this article derive from a larger study that investigated how a school curriculum leadership team in one Preparatory Year to Year 12 independent Queensland school implemented Australia’s first national curriculum. The focus in this article is on the challenges and enablers encountered by members of this team during implementation. A qualitative methodology was employed, whereby a single case study design was used. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 29 participants, which comprised 28 from the case school and one curriculum officer of a professional association for independent schools. Documents and an online questionnaire were also used, which provided useful insights into the context of the school. The key findings are analysed against Sergiovanni’s (1995) model of change process and signify the need for school leaders to consider the interactive nature of the change process in their planning and implementation of large-scale education reform. Such complexity can facilitate or hinder implementation.