In this cross-sectional quantitative study, we employed survey research to examine the differences in school counselors' (N = 327) burnout, job stress, and job satisfaction based on their student caseload size. The results indicated that higher caseloads were associated with higher degrees of burnout and job stress, along with lower job…

Diminished self-care practices and heightened stress of school counselors are continuing problems in education. With role ambiguity, high student-to-counselor ratios, emotional exhaustion, and other factors adding pressure to the roles and responsibilities of school counselors, this study investigated the well-being practiced of Missouri school…

The study examines factors that boost principals' sense of resilience in their first year, as well as those that undermine it. 61 interviews were conducted with 21 school principals from five different districts throughout their first year in the role. Analysis revealed five categories of resilience-undermining factors. (1) Work overload that…

An emerging body of research has shown that mindfulness practices for school administrators can result in significant benefits, including a reduction in stress and sense of burnout. Concurrently, nearly 20% of school principals exit their position each year--and cite high levels of stress as a primary motivating factor. In this conceptual paper,…

In this conceptual article, the researchers review the nature of stress as reported by principals and suggest a means for responding to that stress with efforts that have resulted in resilience for people in numerous occupations, with particular emphasis on physicians. This article presents an argument that internal coping methods such as…

The research examined school leaders' opinions, attitudes, and performative actions toward teacher absenteeism. Existing research has primarily focused on interventions implemented by the Teachers' Service Commission to curb teacher absenteeism, and yet since leaders are the main agents and their actions are context bound, their actual actions and…

This study is designed to understand how principals perceive the common stressors associated with leading an educational enterprise and propose strategies for relief from job-related stressors. As such, the same survey results from principals in 2009 and 2012 are analyzed. The results indicated increases in the perceived state of stress with…

The study investigated destructive leadership behaviors (DLBs) and their influence on K-12 workplace attitudes (subordinate consideration for leaving their job, job satisfaction, and levels of stress). Quantitative survey method was used to gather data from experienced professional educators. Analyses of data show that the practice of DLB exists…

High school block scheduling is in its earliest stages. Although time structures have changed, usage has not. Block schedules are threatened when curriculum standards and student mobility are ignored, courses are improperly sequenced, funding for increased personnel needs is inadequate, performing-arts instruction is not accommodated, and…

The learning organization learns continually and has the capacity to transform itself. This article presents a model addressing three levels of interrelated learning (individual, team, and organizational) and discusses seven action imperatives. Creating continuous learning opportunities, promoting dialog and inquiry, and building teams are vital…

Reasons principals give for leaving the principalship involve job conditions more than personal or community circumstances. Diminished authority contributes to the attrition rate. From a random survey of 4,766 secondary school principals, just under 10 percent (446) indicated they had decided to leave the principalship in 1979. (Author/LD)

Assistant principals are a neglected variable in the effective schools equation. The traditional conceptualization of assistant principals as disciplinarians still prevails, despite these administrators' usefulness as change agents, motivators, ethical models, community relations agent, care givers, and innovators. (MLH)

The two models in Florida's Educational Quality Benchmark System represent a new way of thinking about developing schools' work culture. The Quality Performance System Model identifies nine dimensions of work within a quality system. The Change Process Model provides a theoretical framework for changing existing beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors…

A recent survey of K-12 teachers in a middle-sized midwestern school system sought to identify the stressful conditions of the teaching profession as perceived by teachers. Women ranked lack of time as the greatest source of stress while men ranked disruptive students as the most stressful condition. (Author/WD)

Offers insights and themes observed in six restructuring schools studied in 1991-92. Results show that principals' importance varies, sharing of power is fragile, leadership and power are often dispersed, changes in decision-making structures sometimes improve instruction, and power redistribution and shared purpose can foster either increased…