1. Causes of well-being, stress and burnout of school leaders
Geert Devos
Bellon – Universiteit Gent

2. Why studying well-being and stress ?
School leaders are important for student learning
Create environment for teaching and learning
Increasing absenteeism in Flemish education
Especially leadership positions in primary education
21,8 days/year in primary education
16,8 days/year in secondary education
50% because of psycho-social causes

3. Research questions
What factors stimulate well-being en reduce stress of school leaders in primary and secundary education?
High performing school leaders
School leaders in schools with a high turnover of school leaders
School leaders with more than five years experience in schools with a low SES student population
How can school leaders be supported through selection, induction and professional development?

4. Stress Well-being Job satisfaction Job enthousiasm
cognitive, satisfaction with several aspects of he job: working conditions, personal growth opportunities, …
Job enthousiasm
emotional, more feeling oriented
Stress
Positive
challenge, motivational
2. Negative
imbalance between demands from environment and capacities of the individual

5. Burnout 3 dimensions Burnout indicator (Maslach Burn-out Inventory)
Emotional exhaustion
“I feel burned out from my work”
Depersonalisation/cynicism
“I doubt that my work is useful”
Lack of personal accomplishment
“I don’t know how to solve the problems at my work”
Burnout indicator (Maslach Burn-out Inventory)
No or limited burnout (1,00-1,99)
Weekly or monthly (2,00-3,33)
Daily (always) burnout (3,34-5,00)

6. Methods
Semi-structured interviews en short survey with 34 school leaders (primary and secondary)
High performing school leaders
School leaders in schools with high principal turnover
School leaders in challinging circumstances (low SES students)
Focus groups with 33 participants (primary and secondary)
Local school networks
School boards
Principal associations

7. Conclusions
Factors influencing well-being and stress of school leaders
Selection, induction and professional development

8. How is the well-being and the stress/burn-out of Flemish school leaders?
Job satisfaction/job enthousiasm varies from average to high
Experience of stress varies (continuous or peaks of stress)
Weekly to monthly burnout:
About half of the school leaders / 1 even daily burnout
Also half of the high performing school leaders burnout symptoms!
Most burnout symptoms in primary education in schools with high principal turnover
For high performing school leaders and school leaders with low SES-student population: burnout similar in primary and secondary education

9. Different facets of burnout
Burnout is complex, and has several forms
Lack of personal accomplishment: mainly with school leaders in schools with high turnover
Emotional exhaustion: mainly with high performing school leaders and school leaders with a low SES student population
Depersonalisation/cynicism: is rare
Burnout remains often unnoticed
School leaders with burnout show regret, most consider leaving the job

10. Factors stimulating well-being but can lead to stress as well
Interpersonal relations
Teachers
Students
Parents
Autonomy
Motivating to develop a personal vision
Varying experiences and perceptions
Role of school board

11. Factors stimulating well-being but can lead to stress as well
Educational tasks and innovations
High performing school leaders and low SES: motivating
School leaders with high turnover: resistance
Family: from feasable balance to neglect
General appreciation for the job is differently perceived

12. Factors leading systematically to stress and burnout
Red tape
Government generates administrative overload
Inspection – less than school leaders perceive
Insufficient time for educational tasks
Primary education: too many basic adminstrative tasks
Work load
Too many tasks: endless working hours and never feel the job is done
Too many meetings
Less problematic for school leaders who know how to delegate or share leadership

13. Factors leading systematically to stress and burnout
Rules and legislation
Unclear, too late – feasability and communication fail when reforms are initiated
Not enough grass roots participation
Unclear how government or other educational agencies can support
Career
Low salary
Career perspectives are limited

14. Conclusions
Factors influencing well-being and stress of school leaders
Selection, induction and professional development

15. Selection, induction and professional development
Different profiles
Importance of awareness of profile needed
Limited number of qualified candidates
Induction
Training, coaching/mentoring
Importance to align with needs of individual school leaders (possible in coaching and apprenticeship)
Professional development

16. Policy recommendations
School leaderschip is crucial
All school leaders – also high performing – run risk of burnout
Difficult search for qualified candidates
= worrying
-> measures not only to reduce stress – also to increase the attractiveness of the job of principal

17. Importance of resilience and care
Balance work – private life
External pressure – control freaks
Already attention during initial training
Importance of feedback from peers
Alertness of school board
Government: climate of openness and breaking the taboo for leaders – goes beyond education

18. Tasks school leader and resources
Primary education: need of administrative support
Principal is allrounder
Minimum 1 FTE
School leadership is more than 1 principal
Need of leadership team
Important to discuss problems and challenges
Also in small schools
Importance of resources for school policy, also in primary education
Learning process: how to delegate and lead a team
Resources and leadership team are not enough: see stress in secondary education

19. Crucial role of the school staff
Dynamic and cooperative team
Important for motivation and well-being of principal and teachers
Need of flexibility in assignment teacher, involvement in policy and cooperation with colleagues
Limited autonomy in personnel policy
What to do with low performing teachers?
Keep enthousiastic, dynamic beginning teachers
Tenure not in a position in a school but in a school board
Large accountability of principals demands a considerate authority

20. Administrative obligations and red tape
Extra administrative support
+ reduction of red tape
Tendency to written reports for all decisions
Stress of principals by appeal of parents against school decisions
Leads tot bureaucracy in school policy
Quality control ≠ documents for all actions and decisions
Need of trust in schools, school leaders and teachers

21. Selection school leaders
Limited number of qualified candidates
Extra resources and shared leadership: + increase attractiveness
Prefer resources to salary increase (also in secondary education!)
Yet frustration salary compared to teachers/other sectors
Career: not in one and the same school
Mandates? Attractiveness of the job?
Need of flexibility and job switch to other schools
School board
Professional selection and configuration of leadership team
Match between school team and school leader
High performing school leaders originate from teacher leadership in the same school

22. Training school leaders
Need of preparation for the job
Teacher leadership step towards school leadership
Learn to know what the job is about
Professional development in leadership skills
Real life test of leadership comtetence
Again importance of leadershipTEAMS
Training related to leaderschip practice in apprenticeship
In high performing schools
Coaching by competent school leaders
Intervision with peer-feedback