Education law, schools and school principals: what does the research tell us?

This chapter reports recent mixed-methods research into the impact of legal issues on school principals in Tasmania. The reported study was based on data from an on-line survey of principals as well as interviews with a wide range of education sector leaders. The chapter examines the external and internal legal environments of schools within which principals practice, the legal areas they deal with, current legal preparation and development arrangements, principals’ legal knowledge and consciousness, and the legal support frameworks available to them.