Co-Principalship: Are Two Heads Better Than One?

Abstract

The traditional model of school principal is of one individual vested with sole authority and accountability. This model has come under increasing scrutiny, particularly over the last two decades. Globally, accounts of principal attrition and a scarcity of applicants for principal vacancies have become more common resulting in an examination of alternative models of principalship as solutions to the leadership crisis. In Catholic secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, the model of co-principalship has been proposed as a possible solution to this reported crisis. In this article, the feasibility of co-principalship as a model of school leadership is examined, drawing on a research study into the tensions of principalship and possible reconceptualisations of the role. The article commences with an overview of the current educational milieu, reports on the views of current principals regarding their role and their view of co-principalship and concludes with a discussion of co-principalship as a panacea for imputed principal dissatisfaction.