The latest survey into principal health and well-being shows that mounting pressures from workloads and offensive behaviours are taking their toll on Australia’s school leaders.
As principals wait for government-led initiatives aimed at reducing these pressures to kick in, school leaders have a helping hand in the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).
Danny Pinchas, AITSL’s general manager of teaching and school leadership, said that principal health and well-being is a significant area of interest to the Institute, which promotes excellence in the profession of teaching and school leadership.
“We know that the job is increasingly complicated for school leaders, but what we also know is that a focus on instructional leadership leading learning makes the biggest difference to student outcomes,” Pinchas told The Educator.
“All of this draws back to the support we offer to make sure principals are doing the things that make the biggest difference and are supported to carry out the other functions of running a school in the most efficient way possible.”
Looking at what works
Pinchas said AITSL’s work in support leadership development will be the Institute’s biggest focus for 2018.
“Last year, we did a lot of research and consultation about what high quality leadership development looks like and what’s required to improve leadership development across all sectors and all jurisdictions,” Pinchas said.
Pinchas said this is a significant focus for all states and territories and that AITSL has been actively involved in surfacing the latest and most compelling evidence regarding school leadership.
“We know, for instance, that it takes a lot longer to become a principal in Australia [27 years] than it does in other OECD countries such as Singapore [14 years],” he explained.
“Supporting leadership is a big focus, but we need to improve the deliberate nature of leadership development, and that has to happen both at a school, and systemic, level.”
Next level support
Pinchas said that while principals are best placed having day-to-day contact with teachers and aspiring leaders, they must be supported to create the conditions for that development in the busy schedule of their day.
“How we can help in this area is something that AITSL, as well as the states and territories, are interested in exploring further,” he said.
“We’re in a position where we have great reach with the profession but we are also able to spend our resources looking at the evidence and thinking about how we can best communicate this to a busy profession.”
AITSL recently developed improved feedback resources for school leaders in partnership with Evidence for Learning, an organisation which enables and supports evidence-informed education practice in Australian schools across all sectors.
“This involved surfacing the research, illustrating what that looks like in practice and going to schools recommended by states and territories to film effective practice and support implementation,” Pinchas said.
“We really focus on the action side. It’s one thing to know, and see, what works, but it’s another thing entirely to have the support to create change at the school level – and this is an area in which AITSL has been effective and will continue to focus on strongly.”
Pinchas said that the feedback from principals has been overwhelmingly positive.
“When we speak with principals, we hear that AITSL’s support is valued because it helps them implement change in their school,” Pinchas said.
“When principals approach their school community and teaching staff with a proposition for change, they not only have the evidence to back up their idea but the resources to show what it will look like – and that can make a huge difference.”
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