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The purpose of this paper is to identify the key individuals, associations and significant events contributing to the establishment and first 50 years of successful publication of the Journal of Educational Administration.

This paper is historical in design. Information relevant to its 50 years of publication has been obtained from the JEA's 172 Editorials and from minutes of Editorial Advisory Board and Management Committee meetings, supplemented by personal editorial memoranda.

Recognised as one of the leading generalist international journals in its field, the Journal of Educational Administration has until recently been edited in Australia. The most eminent international scholars in the field have published in the JEA throughout its lifetime. Esteemed scholars have also occupied positions on its Editorial Board. The JEA has enjoyed close and supportive associations with several prominent professional organisations including UCEA and CCEA.

This paper does not include detailed information about the content of the almost 1,000 articles published throughout its history. This is the subject of other specific research undertakings.

The JEA was the first generalist international journal in the field of educational administration. Its first volume appeared in 1963. It has reached the age of 50 years and hence this paper's report of such may provide a basis for similar studies of other journals as they achieve significant milestones.

The aim of this paper is to bring together for the first time three studies of middle‐level leaders in secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. The studies span more than a decade and allow consideration of the progress in developing middle‐level leadership roles.

All studies followed a consistent approach using multiple perspective interviews of middle‐level curriculum and subject leadership in government and Catholic secondary schools in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Principals, senior leaders, middle‐level leaders and teachers were interviewed to gain their perceptions on middle‐level leadership. Interviews were supplemented with school document analysis.

The work of middle‐level leaders is heavily dependent on how their roles are constructed and the capacities, abilities and attitudes of the leaders. Some are expected to be leaders that influence teaching and learning, and they may be developed and supported to do so. Too often, however, teachers in these key roles have few expectations or opportunities to exercise leadership. Whilst many have the capacity to be leaders of teaching and learning, others are not sure about their ability to influence teaching and learning. Suggestions are made for how leadership might be structured in schools to emphasise the importance of middle‐level leaders, and how these leaders can be better prepared and supported.

Observational studies, studies of primary school contexts and cross‐country comparisons would extend this research.

Middle‐level school leaders need to be seen as key personnel in improving teaching and learning, school structures need to reflect this, and developing leadership capacity needs to be prioritised.

This paper highlights continuing issues with how the work of middle‐level school leaders is conceptualised and supported, and makes suggestions for leadership structure and the preparation and development of school leaders.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Catholic district offices support school leaders’ instructional leadership practices at times of major reform.

The paper employs the theory of practice architectures as a lens through which to examine local site-based responses to system-wide reforms in two Australian Catholic secondary schools and their district offices. Data collection for these parallel case studies included semi-structured interviews, focus groups, teaching observations, classroom walkthroughs and coaching conversations.

Findings suggest that in the New South Wales case, arrangements of language and specialist discourses associated with a school improvement agenda were reinforced by district office imperatives. These imperatives made possible new kinds of know-how, ways of working and relating to district office, teachers and students when it came to instructional leading. In the Queensland case, the district office facilitated instructional leadership practices that actively sought and valued practitioners’ input and professional judgment.

The research focussed on two case studies of district offices supporting school leaders’ instructional leadership practices at times of major reform. The findings are not generalizable.

Practically, the studies suggest that for excellent pedagogical practice to be embedded and sustained over time, district offices need to work with principals to foster communicative spaces that promote explicit dialogue between teachers and leaders’ interpretive categories.

The paper contends that responding to the diversity of secondary school sites requires district office practices that reject a one size fits all formulas. Instead, district offices must foster site-based education development.

The paper adopts a practice theory approach to its study of district support for instructional leader’ practices. A practice approach rejects a one size fits all approach to educational change. Instead, it focusses on understanding how particular practices come to be in specific sites, and what kinds of conditions make their emergence possible. As such, it leads the authors to consider whether and how different practices such as district practices of educational reforming or principals’ instructional leading might be transformed, or conducted otherwise, under other conditions of possibility.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effect of management and decision‐making styles on the job satisfaction of academic staff in a Malaysian Research University.

The sample consisted of 218 respondents. The instruments used in the study were the Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Decision Style Inventory. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to determine the influence of decision‐making style and management style on the job satisfaction.

The findings showed that the research university had adopted an analytical decision‐making style. The hygiene factors were the predictors of job satisfaction as perceived by the academic staff at the research university in Malaysia.

This research selected a top Malaysian research university and small samples were selected from the whole population under consideration, thus, the findings can be generalized as similar to other research universities. In addition, the university management determines the decision‐making style, and the job satisfaction of the academic staff is affected by the decision‐making style of the university.

A contribution is made to the literature as the research reinforces the view that the management style and decision‐making style can predict or affect the job satisfaction of the academic staff.

Remarks on the parallel in the basis of the riches of the aristocracy and plutocracy. Illustrates the argument from the history of the development of the cotton textile industry, the underpinnings for its growth being the inventions prior to and during the eighteenth century. Exemplifies the part of inventions as the begetter of plutocratic wealth. Sir Richard Arkwright, notably, was its salacious issue.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.