Openness as a feature of communication in catholic primary schools: what are the issues for school leadership?

Open communication has been identified as a feature of effective, successful and well managed organisations. It relates to honesty of interactions, freedom of expression and high levels of trust among staff members. It has been associated with staff morale. This article presents the results of two studies conducted in Australian Catholic primary schools. Openness is described and explained as a feature of school communication systems, and investigated in terms of hypothesised relationships with job satisfaction and stress, using quantitative and qualitative data. The findings suggest strong links between openness of communication and teacher job satisfaction and stress. The implications for school leadership are discussed in terms of teacher morale, leadership behaviour and school improvement.