school management
Principals have always been undervalued , often neglected .
‘ Frightening ’
Australian principals at risk of mental ill-health .
By Emilie Lauer
Supporting new teachers during their first day at school can help to reduce attrition rates and provide a better learning environment for all staff and students , according to an education expert .
School violence , heavy workloads , teacher shortages , stress and demanding parents have pushed principal wellbeing to the limit , with one in two school leaders at risk of severe mental health issues .
According to results from a 2022 survey of Australian principals ’, nearly 48 per cent of school leaders triggered a ‘ red flag ’ alert last year - a jump from the 29.1 per cent recorded in 2021 .
While filing the survey , principals who recorded high levels of burnout , stress or depression , low level of life satisfaction or happiness , or were thinking of self-harm , set off a ‘ red flag alert ’.
Red flag alert emails were then sent to principals as a reminder to contact employee support services to discuss and get help with their wellbeing .
Study co-lead investigator Associate Professor Theresa Dicke said the data was ‘ frightening ’.
“ Most of these principles received a red flag because they showed very high rates of burnout , depression , stress , exhaustion , and every second principal has now hit that ,” Dicke told Education Review .
“ What we are seeing is that the demands of the job and the stress associated with it have increased , while commitment and job satisfaction have reduced . “ There ’ s no more balance .” The report showed principals working in special needs schools were the most at risk of poor mental health , with 56.3 per cent triggering red flag emails in 2022 .
Public school principals followed at 51.8 per cent , Catholic school leaders at 35.3 per cent and Independent school principals at 27.7 per cent .
Secondary school principals triggered more red flag alerts than their primary school counterparts at 52.3 per cent and 46.1 per cent , respectively .
Across all sectors , female principals were the most at risk of triggering red flag alerts . “ This could be explained through the fact that the work-life balance for women or female principles is much more critical ,” Associate Professor Dicke said .
“ Most of them are still the primary caregiver , and it is tough for them to balance not just this demanding job , but also family and work-life balance on the side .”
According to the survey , excessive workload , school violence , lack of time to focus on teaching , and staff shortages have negatively impacted principals ’ wellbeing .
Data showed that , on average , principals worked more than 56 hours a week during school term and 22 hours during school holidays .
“ The workload has increased to a stage that administrators have an unrealistic workload per week ,” a female public high school principal in QLD wrote in the report .
“ Demands from parents and students have increased significantly .
“[ For ] school refusal , the amount of hours that you put into one student and family is unproportional to the rest of your workload ,” the principal wrote .
Associate Professor Dicke said rising instances of school violence against principals had taken its toll on school leaders ’ wellbeing .
The report found principals were 11 times more at risk of violence than other professions , with one-third of offensive behaviours coming from parents .
“ School violence multiplies the problems ; some principals can take up with being stressed because they knew this is what they signed up for ,” she said .
“ Now adding these offensive behaviours makes school leaders more likely to leave the profession , as would anybody .”
Of the 2500 principals surveyed , 65 principals planned to quit or retire early in 2022 due to declining wellbeing .
“ I am leaving earlier than expected due to stress , the sense of frustration at being moved away from educational leadership and into management conversation , parental concerns , staff fatigue and my own burnout ,” an NSW independent school principal wrote in the report .
Associate Professor Dicke said principals ’ wellbeing should be a priority for governments , and providing more resources will be necessary to turn the trends around .
“ Principals have always been undervalued , often neglected , and this drive also drives the principal shortage because fewer teachers will want to become principals as the profession becomes unattractive and unsustainable .”
She said the government should establish a similar plan to the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan , which would target principals only , including measures for their wellbeing and redefining their role in the school .
“ While the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan actually includes principals , they are the ones who have to implement most of these measures and take care of their teachers .
“ This is basically adding demands to their workloads ,” she said . ■
24 | educationreview . com . au