Education Publications
Ontario principals’ and vice-principals’ well-being and coping strategies in the context of work intensification
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2018
Journal
Perspectives on flourishing in schools
First Page
287
Last Page
304
Abstract
A great education starts with effective, committed, and passionate leaders. However, in recent years a sharp increase in responsibilities and workload have made the principalship more physically and emotionally stressful (Chaplain, 2001; Darmody & Smyth, 2016), which has led to a decline in school leaders’ quality of life and well-being. When principals and vice-principals (VPs) are stressed and burned out, then staff and students are negatively impacted, and the overall quality of the school can deteriorate (Darmody & Smyth, 2016; Devos et al., 2007). For school leaders to positively influence student outcomes they must be physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy to effectively carry out their duties and responsibilities. Failing to recognize a health disorder could delay principals and VPs seeking appropriate intervention, encourage them to use inappropriate remedies, or make it difficult for them to communicate with health care professionals (Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, 2007). This chapter presents the different factors impacting principals’ and VPs’ health and well-being, and the coping strategies they use to deal with the changing nature of their work.
Citation of this paper:
Wang, F., Pollock, K., & Hauseman, D. C. (2018). Ontario principals’ and vice-principals’ well- being and coping strategies in the context of work intensification. In S. Cherkowski & K. Walker (Eds.), Perspectives on flourishing schools (pp. 287–304). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
