How is religious leadership understood and practised by principles in Catholic secondary schools in South Australia?

This thesis explores the religious dimension of the role of the principal in the Catholic Secondary Schools of South Australia. The study is set in the context of a complex and changing environment. Society is becoming increasingly secular, and religious values are on the wane. The role of the principal has become progressively more encumbered by government regulation and policy and an increased level of accountability for a wide range of school outcomes, many of these outside the core purposes of the school (Fullan, 2003). In Catholic schools, the numbers of the professed religious men and women, traditionally the backbone of those schools, has declined dramatically in the last two decades and lay persons have taken over from members of religious congregations as principals in most Catholic Secondary Schools in South Australia.