Exploring the agency of Victorian high school principals: A critical realist analysis

This study investigates how Victorian public high school principals exercise strategic agency within the policy frameworks of school autonomy and system accountability. Employing critical realist theory, it conceptualises principal agency as a capacity to act shaped by competing discourses while simultaneously enabling and constrained by institutional structures. Interview data analysis reveals how principals interpret, adapt, and reshape these structural and cultural conditions through their leadership practices. The findings enhance our understanding of principal agency within contemporary educational governance, demonstrating that effective school leadership requires sophisticated navigation of institutional constraints and opportunities while making strategic decisions for school improvement.