Excessive admin pressures, long work hours and increasing risks of violence are taking a toll on school principals, a new report reveals.
It comes as the latest survey on Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing, is released.
The report on 2018 data, led by Associate Professor Philip Riley of Australian Catholic University, draws on responses from 2365 participants.
The top two sources of stress for principals surveyed last year were the sheer quantity work they had to do, and a lack of time to focus on teaching and learning. The next biggest sources of stress were employer expectations and student mental health issues.
The report notes that principals and deputy/assistant principals experience far higher prevalence of offensive behaviour at work each year than the general population.
Figures show the number of principals who experienced threats of violence rose between 2011 and 2018 from 28 per cent to 45 per cent, and those who had been subjected to actual physical violence rose from 27 per cent to 37 per cent.
Professor Jeffrey Brooks, and Associate Dean of Research and Innovation and RMIT University, says the survey should prompt policy-makers to action.
“The Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing for 2018 data confirms what we already know, but it raises the stakes - the alarming rise in violence against principals demands an urgent response at local and national levels,” he said.
“Working conditions for principals are a problem for several reasons. First, people in the positions now need immediate help in terms of well-being and safety.
"Second, principals influence quality teaching and student learning. If they are not well or pushed too hard, it will surely have a negative effect on our schools."
"Third, Australia needs a steady pipeline of high-quality leaders. This is a priority for all states, and if we aim to attract high quality candidates, they must know they will be supported and cared for.”
The Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) responded to the trend, stating that principals are working at a time when the challenges of social, economic and industrial change have never been greater.
“While welcome efforts have been made by systems and school communities to affect positively the circumstances of the principalship, the stressors for our school leaders have remained the same, and in many instances grown," APPA president Malcolm Elliott said.
He says while the welfare of students and staff are serious issues to tackle, the report shows that this work is being undertaken in an atmosphere in which principals are subjected to abuse including threats of violence, actual violence and bullying behaviour.
He says the association calls for an investment in genuinely collaborative approaches.