Educational leadership, administration, management & policy

Educational leadership, administration, management and policy (eLAMP) research provides interdisciplinary expertise and thought leadership in the field of education.

eLAMP galvanises outstanding UNSW researchers and collaborators to understand contemporary issues impacting education both locally and abroad. 

Internationally, there is a confidence in education to transform the individual and society for the better, yet how to improve education – and to what end – remain questions of fundamental significance. The eLAMP research community conducts diverse and collaborative research activity aimed at meeting this demand.

Themes and signature projects

Theory in educational leadership

We have an international reputation for leading scholarship on social critical/post-structuralist thinking, relational and philosophical approaches to educational leadership. The flagship for this signature theme is the Educational Leadership Theory Book Series published by Springer.  

Educational leadership for social justice 

Social and educational inequality is one of the most pressing issues facing schools and educators in many countries around the world. Our key focus is on approaches and strategies to tackle disadvantage and inequality. Drawing on the group’s expertise in leadership theory, social justice and organisations, this theme will mobilise the group’s members and collaborators in the development of research that addresses the challenges faced by educators in tackling educational inequality. 

A/Prof Eacott and A/Prof Niesche are currently chief investigators on an ARC Discovery Project looking at school autonomy and social justice. In addition, Prof Evers is a co-editor of the Educational Leadership and Policy Decision-Making in Neoliberal Times that aligns with this theme.

Organising the professions 

The work of A/Prof Eacott and A/Prof Niesche on school autonomy and leadership is complemented by a focus on how work in schools is structured, experienced and understood. This research theme is exemplified in the work of Dr Stacey who is currently collaborating with researchers from the University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, Curtin University, University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology to consider teachers’ working conditions in times of devolved governance and market-oriented schooling.

Who we are