(Re) Situating Commonwealth: Educational Leadership at a Time of Demographic Change

Eileen Piggot-Irvine wanted to know what nations' independence meant for educational leaders such as school principals across the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth countries share a similar education system - one modeled on the British school system. As Commonwealth nations have obtained their independence, those systems have begun to diverge to better suit the needs of the population and the culture. Now, as one generation of educational leaders heads toward retirement age and younger blood is coming in, another upheaval is occurring.

Eileen Piggot-Irvine wanted to know what those changes meant for educational leaders such as school principals across the Commonwealth. She spent two years conducting studies in Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu, and followed those studies up with research in South Africa, seeking to compare and contrast each country.

Piggot-Irvine detailed her findings in her work (Re) Situating Commonwealth: Educational Leadership at a Time of Demographic Change, published in International Studies in Educational Administration, and spoke about her work at the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management in 2014.