TY - JOUR
T1 - ‘Always ready and always well’
T2 - Exploring stress on school principals in Chile
AU - González, Álvaro
AU - Aravena, Felipe
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Educational systems worldwide have increased the responsibilities and tasks of principals, seeking to improve schools’ performance. As a result, the role of principals has become increasingly challenging and stressful, having a negative impact on principals’ attraction and retention, job satisfaction as well as their mental and physical health. This paper explores how a group of 21 Chilean school principals working in the Valparaiso Region experience stress, based on individual semi-structured interviews about their subjective experiences in their role. Findings suggest that principals consider their work to be challenging, associated with several demanding situations in their schools which contribute to feeling stress. Stressors identified by principals can be organized into three groups: work-related, such as dealing with bureaucratic pressures and lack of support from municipal authorities; relationship-related, such as managing relations with a wide range of school actors and the emotional burden of interacting with them; and time-related, such as being always available to solve problems and feeling isolated in this task.
AB - Educational systems worldwide have increased the responsibilities and tasks of principals, seeking to improve schools’ performance. As a result, the role of principals has become increasingly challenging and stressful, having a negative impact on principals’ attraction and retention, job satisfaction as well as their mental and physical health. This paper explores how a group of 21 Chilean school principals working in the Valparaiso Region experience stress, based on individual semi-structured interviews about their subjective experiences in their role. Findings suggest that principals consider their work to be challenging, associated with several demanding situations in their schools which contribute to feeling stress. Stressors identified by principals can be organized into three groups: work-related, such as dealing with bureaucratic pressures and lack of support from municipal authorities; relationship-related, such as managing relations with a wide range of school actors and the emotional burden of interacting with them; and time-related, such as being always available to solve problems and feeling isolated in this task.
KW - Chile
KW - Principals
KW - Stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104457043&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102399
DO - 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102399
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85104457043
SN - 0738-0593
VL - 84
JO - International Journal of Educational Development
JF - International Journal of Educational Development
M1 - 102399
ER -