In the past ten years the emergence of studies in the area of effective schools has focused a good deal of attention on the role adopted by principals in the process of change. Few can deny the importance of this role in the development and implementation of new/changing curriculum statements. This is especially noticeable in schools that are part of a large 'centralised' system. This study is concerned with the role adopted by four principals in schools in Wollongong N.S.W. where a new syllabus in Writing K-6 was being implemented. It examined the implementation activities used and then focused specifically on the role adopted by the principal in that process.1 To enable the success or otherwise of the implementation activities to be identified, the C-BAM techniques developed by Hall, Hord et al were modified and used. The role adopted by each of the four principals was then considered in an effort to identify the contribution it made to the implementation activities. The findings suggest that the principal does play a significant role in Curriculum Implementation and that he/she needs additional skills and understandings to enable the process used to be successful. It is recommended that the C-BAM techniques would be one useful tool that principals could use.

The integration of disabled children into regular schools is a current educational and social issue causing widespread interest, concern and debate throughout Australia. The most controversial and innovative adoption of integration policy has occurred in Victoria since the release of the Collins Report in 1984. The present study was conducted in 26 State primary schools in the Bendigo area of the Loddon Campaspe Mallee region of Victoria where disabled children had been integrated in regular classrooms with the assistance of a paid teacher aide during 1988. The purpose of the study was to survey the concerns of those teachers into whose classes children with disabilities had been integrated. The Stages of Concern (SoC) dimension of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (C-BAM) was chosen as the research methodology. C-BAM was developed at the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education, University of Texas at Austin, and for the purpose of this study, the methodology consisted of a questionnaire of 35 standardized items (the Stages of Concern Questionnaire), and a School Survey. The study set out to identify the concerns of teachers (ii) toward integration, and to establish reasons why teachers are at particular stages of concern. Factors included teachers' age, gender, number of years of teaching experience, qualifications and in-service training. Other issues related to the disabled children themselves, the school, and factors such as availability of resources, funding levels, and access to support systems. This study developed from the policy document Integration in Victorian Education (the Collins Report, 1984). Since then, the Ministry of Education has published two additional booklets (in January and February, 1987), which partly address some of the issues included in this thesis. These include resourcing, in-servicing and the legal implications of the innovation. The analysis of the data points to major shortcomings which will jeopardize the implementation process and the likely success of the innovation. A number of recommendations have been suggested, with particular reference to the pre-service and in-service training of teachers, and issues relating to funding and resources. The findings have implications for all classroom teachers, as potentially all are required to accept disabled children into their classes. The results and recommendations also have relevance for the Ministry of Education, whose responsibility it is to ensure that the integration of disabled children into regular classes is fully supported at a government level, and for training institutions, whose task it is to provide appropriate pre-service and in-service programs for present and future classroom teachers.