Based on our involvement (Clarke, Wildy & Pepper, 2007) in the International Study of Principal Preparation (a major international collaboration comprising thirteen countries: Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, the United States and China), this paper examines theories of organization that have informed our understanding of schools as complex social worlds and the practice of leadership that seems to be desirable in such environments. In accordance with this understanding we describe the interpretive research approach we have adopted for revealing the complexity of novice principals’ day-to-day work along with the implications this complexity has for the ways in which they are prepared for the role. In particular, we advocate the ‘formation’ of authentic leaders who have the capability to deal successfully with situations of uncertainty, change and complexity going beyond the knowledge acquisition, competencies and management skills that often characterize initial preparation programmes for principals (Duignan, 2006). For this purpose, a framework is suggested as a heuristic tool for connecting the realities of the principal’s world with the professional knowledge, skills and dispositions that are required to perform their work effectively both now and in the future.

Our interpretive research approach has led us to interview principals in their workplace regularly during their first year in the position. In doing so, our role has been to provide an opportunity for novice principals often weighed down by day-to-day practice, to express their values, impressions, fears, passions and in this way allow their latent understandings to become manifest (Harris, 2003, p.315). From research of this nature conducted in Australia over more than a decade we have come to believe that the narrative account offers an effective means of depicting the complexity of principals' work characterised as it is by dealing with dilemmas, interacting with colleagues and the community, and coping with a diversity of professional responsibilities (Wildy & Clarke, 2008a). We argue that the life-like accounts generated by this narrative writing can contribute to both theory for understanding and theory for improvement in school leadership (Clarke & Wildy, 2004).

From our rich and realistic portrayal of complexity in principals’ day-to-day work we have articulated a framework with four focal points for informing processes of preparation - place, people, system and self (Wildy & Clarke, 2008b). We believe that this framework has potential to be used as a heuristic tool in a variety of school contexts and across international settings for connecting the realities of the principal’s world with the professional knowledge, skills and dispositions required to perform their work as key educational leaders most effectively.