When research policy and practice disconnect

Articulating and developing policy for implementation is an ongoing part of the significant political processes which influence education at the school level in Australia. This is particularly the case for the state school systems run by every state government, as the changes in political leadership can and does significantly impact policy direction (Cranston & Ehrich, 2006). This chapter reviews an example of development of educational leadership focus in Queensland state government policy and traces the changes in policy discourse, language and implementation processes across a specific time period from 2006 to 2013. The continuum of policy iterations that occur are evaluated based on the The Bowe, Ball and Gold Policy Cycle (1992), which is used to identify reasons behind disconnects that can occur between policy, implementation and policy text