Purpose: Work-related stress is a significant occupational health issue. Stress cannot be viewed separately from the perceptual or interpretive act by the individual. Self-efficacy is a personal characteristic that explains a high proportion of variation in the performance of school principals. Design/methodology/approach: The current study…

Purpose: This paper explores how individual and collective burnout has become an organizational concern for school leaders, why burnout matters and what might be done to address the problems individual and organizational burnout generates. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents an analysis of the current literature regarding individual…

Purpose: This research sought to identify groups of school employees who were more similar in their responses to burnout and engagement measures, for the purpose of exploring what was similar in their school experiences. The profiles created in the present research enable a clearer appreciation of what is common to groups of school employees who…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the argument that leadership preparation programmes in the new millennium should be required to train school leaders emotionally as well as cognitively. A number of scholars have stressed that leaders are increasingly working within roles that are politically sensitive, conflicted and complex,…

An Australian principal who participated in an exploratory study to ascertain the extent and sources of stress among school principals realized that many of his colleagues felt isolated and unsupported. The study relates the high incidence of anxiety and depression among principals to conceiving educational administration as a technical activity.…

Summarizes a qualitative study of principal burnout, focusing on causes of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment in the principalship. Nine principals explain how the job has changed, what job elements precipitated burnout, and why they are leaving. Discusses implications, including the need for improved support…