Scripting, ritualising and performing leadership: interrogating recent policy developments in Australia

In this article, we argue that leadership of schools is a form of performance that has become ritualised and routinised through the official scripting of policy texts that mandate how leadership of schools should occur. Our interrogation of recent policy scripts in Australia reveals that there is limited scope for leadership in schools to occur as accountability mechanisms and policy directives codify the professional expertise that leaders are required to possess, act out and act on.