Elementary School Principals and Job

¶ … Elementary School Principals and Job Stress

Certainly, any type of jobs carries with it some level of stress, but it would seem that elementary school principals in particular are prone to stressful conditions simply by virtue of the unique exigencies of their positions. Irate and incensed parents, changing boards of education, politicians with personal agendas, teachers, support staff - and the students themselves of course - all combine to present the typical elementary school principal with enough stressful situations to challenge anyone's ability to cope, but cope they must. Unfortunately, things appear to be getting even worse in many regions of the country where a paucity of qualified elementary school principals combined with rising elementary school enrollments has caused increasing concern among educators and policymakers alike. To determine what factors tend to contribute to stressful conditions in the workplace for the average elementary school principal, this study will examine stress across a continuum of nine factors, followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

This chapter will provide a review of the relevant literature and a discussion of stress as it affects elementary school principals according to nine dimensions, including stress as it relates to educational administration; stress and burnout as it relates to elementary school principals; stress as it relates to role conflict and ambiguity with elementary school principals; stress and the principalship; stress and personality types of principals; stress and gender of elementary school principals; levels of stress and coping techniques for elementary school principals.

Stress as it Relates to Educational Administration.

It would seem that a great deal of attention has been focused on how much stress children and adolescents experience during their school years, while those responsible for administering these educational services have been neglected in the equation; however, by any measure, educational administration is much like any other setting where people interact and business is carried out (Colten & Gore, 1991). According to Iwasaki, Mackay, and Mactavish (2005), "Stress is evident in every domain of contemporary life -- work, family, home, and even leisure" (p. 1). Like any other setting, though, educational administration has its unique characteristics that can contribute to higher incidences of stressful situations and these can be even more profound by virtue of the ages of students involved. Elementary school children are at a formative period of their lives where much remains unclear and unknown, and expectations nebulous. Applying adult standards to these settings is not only inappropriate, it can be harmful. For example, thousands of educators are confronted with the frustrating question of how to handle "this most baffling -- but constant -- of professional hazards: stress" (Crute, 2004, p. 34). Citing the results of a recent survey by Optum Research, a Minnesota-based company that investigates work-related health risks, Crute reports that fully 88% of educators typically experience moderate to high levels of stress on the job today. Americans are famous for being a stressed out society, particularly following the attacks of September 11, 2001 (Aftermath: America's educators reflect on the impact of September 11, 2001).

Given the commonplace nature of stress in human life and in the workplace, are educators in general and elementary school principals in particular somehow more "stressed-out" than their managerial counterparts in other professions? It would certainly seem that this was the case, at least based on the evidence to date: "Why all this interest in educators, given the pervasive nature of stress throughout our culture? Because, researchers say, educators face unique circumstances" (Crute, 2004, p. 35). These unique circumstances relate to the public school system in the United States, where long-term problems in funding and well-intentioned but misguided curricula reform initiatives have resulted in school systems that are faced with more problems than answers (Enderlin-Lampe, 1997). In this regard, Crute suggests that, "The often overpowering combination of overcrowded classrooms, testing pressures, paperwork, and anxious parents, not to mention often rambunctious and stressed-out kids, has put teachers at particularly high risk. And educators tend not to know when -- or how -- to stop and refuel" (2004, p. 35). Despite the blissful reports of carefree school years recounted in the press and fondly remembered by seniors, many school-age children today are being increasingly subjected to school-related stressors such as failing grades, overly demanding classroom environments, athletic requirements, peer relationships, tests, and conflicts with teachers (Coleman, Fallin & Wallinga, 2001).

In fact, stress has become a natural component of even the youngest children's lives, making the concept of a carefree childhood nearly obsolete (Large, 1999). According to Large, "Students reported more unique stressors, such as having to contend with a physical disability, parents' divorcing, or financial pressure at home. Students also can experience the distress of 'victimization' at school -- teasing, intimidation, bullying, and sexual harassment from other students. Domestic violence and other forms of abuse and neglect at home can also contribute to the stressful lives of some children" (p. 39). As a result, educators are increasingly encountering a wide range of these stressors on their students and the effects of these stressful situations in their school; as a result, academic problems, behavioral problems, children's complaints of stomachaches or headaches, and substance abuse all may be related to excessive levels of stress in student's lives (Coleman et al., 2001).

The consequences of these disturbing trends are discussed further below.

Stress and Burnout as They Relate to Principals.

According to Neumann and Reichel (1993), stress and burnout in organizations have become the focus of an increasing number of studies in recent years. These authors define burnout as "a syndrome or a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion, as well as cynicism towards one's work in response to chronic organizational stressors"; the emotional exhaustion component is one of the more extreme varieties of work-related stresses and manifests itself in employees as a general loss of feeling, concern, trust, interest, and spirit (Neumann & Reichel, 1993).

Citing the results of previous researchers, these authors also note that when elementary school principals experience stress-related burnout, their emotional reserves are depleted and they no longer feel they are able to give of themselves at a psychological level. In this regard, Etzion (1984) characterized the emotional exhaustion dimension of burnout to "feeling depressed, trapped, hopeless"; people who feel this way frequently loss interest in occupational goals and the people they are supposed to manage (Neumann & Reichel, 1993).

The physical exhaustion component of burnout is related to feeling weak, tired, and rundown, and is typically characterized by low energy, chronic fatigue, and weakness (Neumann & Reichel, 1993). The mental exhaustion component manifests itself in the form of feeling worthless, disillusioned, and rejected and is characterized by the development of negative attitudes towards self, work, and life even itself (Etzion, 1984, cited in Neumann & Reichel, p. 76). Unfortunately, elementary school principals seem to be particularly well situated to become victims of stress-related burnout. For example, in his essay, "Challenges for 21st-Century Elementary School Principals," Ferrandino (2001) reports that burnout has become an all-too-common occurrence as principals try to cope with the increasing pressures and demands of parents, teachers, and supervisors.

To cite an example of these building stressful pressures, one of every 10 principals surveyed in 1998 by the NAESP had been named in a civil lawsuit as a result of a playground accident, a disciplinary action, or some other work-related activity. The consequences of these trends were severe: "Even though there has never been a judgment against a principal in such cases," the author says, "the fear of litigation is very real today" (emphasis added) (Farrandino, 2001, p. 440). Indeed, when educators in general and elementary school principals in particular experience burnout, there are enormous and costly implications for their school systems; according to Boudreau, Golembiewski, Luo and Sun, these implications can include:

Job involvement and all facets of job satisfaction decrease.

Turnover increases, both in intent and in actual departures.

Group cohesiveness decreases.

Physical and emotional symptoms increase.

Features of family life deteriorate.

Indicators of performance fall.

Costs of medical insurance increase significantly (p. 59).

At a time when the future of education demands effective and creative elementary school principals who are "energetic, enthusiastic, confident, flexible and purposeful," they are also being confronted with powerful forces that tend to prevent them from being "willing to serve others, willing to try new things, taking initiative and following through" (Goertz, 2000, p. 158). While many elementary school principals aspire to these levels of performance, they continue to be thwarted on a number of other fronts that are unique to the profession; these issues are discussed further below.

Stress as it Relates to Role Conflict and Ambiguity with Elementary School Principals.

According to Mohajer, Opheim and Read (1995), "principals enjoy a unique slot in the educational tier" (p. 115). As noted above, though, there is not much room for enjoying this high office today. Not only are elementary school teachers faced with supervising more teachers and more support staff than in years past, they are increasingly being confronting with the need to wear a variety of "hats" as they administer their school's curriculum, budgetary requirements and public relations activities, to mention just a few. According to Copland (2001), although the following job description is a parody, it is not too far from the truth concerning the current set of responsibilities that confront the nation's elementary school principals:

Position Opening: Elementary School Principal, Anytown School District. Qualifications: Wisdom of a sage, vision of a CEO, intellect of a scholar, leadership of a point guard, compassion of a counselor, moral strength of a nun, courage of a firefighter, craft knowledge of a surgeon, political savvy of a senator, toughness of a soldier, listening skills of a blind man, humility of a saint, collaborative skills of an entrepreneur, certitude of a civil rights activist, charisma of a stage performer, and patience of Job. Salary lower than you might expect. Credential required. For application materials, contact... (Copland, 2001, p. 528).

While the above advertisement may be beyond the typical requirements, they are not too far off from reality. Copland points to the following actual excerpt from a job listing recently posted for an elementary principalship in a large, urban school system:

The elementary school principal provides direction and leadership within the assigned school. This involves overseeing the management of the educational program, decision-making and communication processes, business operations, staff and community relations programs, and the physical plant.

The principal directs the establishment and maintenance of a school climate conducive to student achievement and learning, including overseeing the enforcement of school rules and regulations, the implementation of disciplinary measures, when necessary, as well as serving as a catalyst to motivate and empower staff, students, and parents to become active participants in the efforts to increase student achievement by improving the educational experience and program.

The principal facilitates and coordinates the implementation of various cluster initiatives, including school participation in the cluster council; the development and implementation of an effective school council; the development of small learning communities; and the planning, implementation, and administration of decentralization plans.

The principal's responsibilities include the improvement of instruction; assessment of student and program success; classroom visitations; the rating of professionals and paraprofessionals; staff orientation and staff development; program planning, monitoring, and evaluation; identification of school needs in terms of personnel and programs; providing staff development for teachers, paraprofessionals, and parent/community volunteers; establishing close working relationships with the Home and School Association; serving as a member of the instructional support team; fostering parent involvement in school activities; establishing and maintaining communications with business, civic, and religious leaders; working with community groups; interpreting existing school programs to the community; developing new and revised school programs to meet community needs and concerns; identifying social and emotional needs of students; ensuring the provision of programs to meet the needs of students beyond the basic skills and basic curricular areas; and performing related duties as required.

The responsibilities described above are to be seen in the context of a shared governance model which supports consultation, collaboration, and consensus among the various constituent groups within the school (Copland, 2001, p. 528).

The author concludes that these prevailing expectations about the elementary school principal's responsibility are inordinately excessive, a trend which is a fundamental part of the problems facing educational administration in America today (Copland, 2001). The stress that is associated with the typical elementary school principal's workday can clearly be related, at least in part, to the large volume of problems they are required to resolve on a daily basis as shown in Table 1 below. According to Cross, elementary school principals generally handle an average of approximately 100 problems per day. "Under such conditions it can hardly be expected that principals reach decisions through the deliberative, self-conscious, classic steps in decision making" (1980, p. 158).

Table 1. Sources of Problems Requiring Decisions by Elementary School Principals Today.

Origin

Frequency

Percentage

Subordinates

Self

Extraordinate

Hierarchy

Peers

Source: Cross, 1980, p. 154.

There are also some gender-related aspects to this issue which are discussed further in the segment on Stress and Gender of Principals that follows.

Stress and the Principalship.

An old saying advises that, "It's lonely at the top," and this has never been more true than when applied to ships' captains at sea and elementary school principals awash in an ocean of paperwork and bureaucracy (Pogue, Schahrer & Schlatter, 2003). The elementary school principal today is widely considered by many observers to be "the key figure in leading staff members, parents, and a student population to higher levels of educational attainment and a conviction that schools will have to be led into new configurations of organization, staffing, program and instruction, technology, parent and patron involvement, and accountability" (Sybouts & Wendel, 1994, p. 1). Unfortunately, these lofty expectations tend to fly directly in the face of the harsh realities facing the vast majority of elementary school principals across the country. According to Ferrandino, "Over the past decade, we have witnessed major changes in the role of the elementary school principal" (p. 440). The enormity of some of these changes was demonstrated in a recent study, "The K-8 Principal in 1998"; the findings of this study were the latest in a series conducted every decade by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and were derived from a survey of 1,323 randomly selected K-8 principals (Ferrandino, 2001). "Not surprisingly," the author notes, "the study confirmed the obvious -- that the principalship today is a much more demanding job than it used to be" (p. 440). For instance, compared to their counterparts from past decades, the average elementary school principal today works more hours (Ferrandino reports an principals working an average of nine hours a day and 54 hours a week more), they are responsible for more students (principals are responsible for an average of 425 students today), and the supervision of more subordinates (on average, 30 teachers and 14 support staff members).

One of the most dramatic shifts in the profession has been related to how many women are now elementary school principals compared to years past; for example, 42% of elementary school principals were women in 1998, representing more than a doubling of the 20% rate from only 10 years earlier (Ferrandino, 2001). Further, the gender shift has been even more significant among elementary school principals with five years of experience or less, with more than two- thirds (65%) being women; however, minorities continue to be underrepresented in elementary school principalships with blacks, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans accounting for approximately 15% of elementary school principals. This underrepresentation was expected to diminish in general, though, and in particular for those regions with rapidly growing minority populations with minority principalships expected to be approximately 55% nationwide by the end of 2004 (Farrandino, 2001).

The 1998 NAESP study also found a growing shortage of elementary school principals; the attrition rate for the 10-year period from 1988-1998 was a staggering 42% and this rate was expected to remain at least as high well into the next decade as well. "Indeed, it could reach as high as 60% as principals of the 'baby boom' generation reach retirement age," Farrandino adds, and "We are already seeing a pattern of principals opting to retire at the earliest possible date" (p. 440). This trend is only being further exacerbated by the fact that the United States is being faced with increasing school enrollments through the end of this year (2005) (Farrandino, 2001). Although stress continues to dominate the discussions about elementary school principals and the challenges they confront on a daily basis, the NAESP survey also identified two other primary factors that related to the high rate of attrition being experienced in this profession today:

Inadequate compensation. The mean salary for elementary principals in 1999-2000 ranged from $57,566 (in the Rocky Mountain region) to $79,736 (in the Middle Atlantic region); there was a national average of $69,407. Although this salary was approximately commensurate with that of a middle-level bureaucrat, elementary school principals are expected to assume many of the responsibilities of a CEO by being compelled to make routine decisions that may determine the success or failure of their schools. "Little wonder that few veteran teachers - even though their salaries are about a third less than those of principals - are willing to move from their classrooms to the principal's office" (Farrandino, 2001, p. 400). This point is echoed by Sybouts and Wendel who point out, "Perhaps one of the major changes in the principalship has been the range of expectations placed on the position; these expectations have moved from demands for management and control, with presumptions for forced compliance, to the demand for an educational leader who can foster staff development, program improvement, parent involvement, community support, and student growth" (p. 2).

Time fragmentation. As noted above and as a direct result of the changing nature of the position, elementary school principals are now required to supervise more teachers and support staff than in years past. Consequently, these increased demands on their time mean that the vast majority of principals will be unable to fulfill all of these responsibilities in a timely and effective manner. According to Farrandino, "There are simply not enough hours in the school day for a conscientious principal to fulfill the many responsibilities of an administrator and an instructional leader, including staff supervision and evaluation, student discipline, curriculum development, and working with parent organizations and site-based governance councils" (p. 440). The 1998 NAESP survey found a typical principal was required to work 0 hours a day without an assistant principal while spending an additional 8 hours a week involved in school-related activities (Farrindino, 2001).

One elementary school principal characterized some of the challenges that confront many of his colleagues in meeting the needs of the students today by saying:

We work under conditions which are overcrowded classrooms, and I don't say it just to find an excuse, and you could go to any one of my classrooms today, and you will find thirty-seven children in a third grade class.... We work under conditions in which children come from many, many backgrounds. Many students are newly arrived to this country. We are also asking our teachers to act as interpreters, act as social workers, act as mom and dad in order for the children to survive. (Rothstein, 1993, p. 136).

Although it may be lonely at the top for some elementary school principals who become stressed out as a result of their day-to-day encounters with the powers that be, others appear to breeze through the rigors without experiencing undue levels of stress; these lucky individuals appear to have the sort of personality that can weather the storm without getting wet, and these issues are discussed further below.

Stress and Personality Types of Principals.

A wide range of suggestions have been made regarding the specific personality variables that may serve as potential moderators of stress over the years (Snyder, 2001). Indeed, some lucky individuals seem to be gifted with the ability to cope with stressful situations and remain calm even when others tend to panic (Beamish, Belcastro & Granello, 2002). For those elementary school teachers blessed with this natural attribute, the stressful events that can be expected to take place would then appear to be little more than normal routine; however, for those who are not (which is to say the vast majority of elementary school principals), life is not so serene and the stress that emerges throughout the workday can become untenable if something is not done to mediate it.

Some of the individual differences variables that have been examined in regard to their moderating influences on coping include optimism, learned optimism, hope, mastery, locus of control, self-efficacy, neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, self-esteem, depression, social support, forgiveness, hostility, a sense of humor, and perceived control (Snyder, 2001). Beyond these psychological individual differences factors, there are also differences in how people respond to stress based on their socioeconomic status, intelligence, education, financial resources, marital/relationship status, age, race, gender, and physical health (Snyder, 2001). The relationship between gender and stress among elementary school principals is discussed further below.

Stress and Gender of Principals.

Just as different types of personalities tend to respond to stressful situations in different ways, men and women also respond to stressful life events in significant different ways (Field, McCabe, Schneiderman & Wellens, 2000). Men, for example, tend to hold anger in more, particularly in the workplace, thereby contributing to higher incidences of hypertension and other cardiovascular complications among this group; however, women are also at risk for increased stress in the educational workplace simply by virtue of their numbers and relative lack of experience compared to their male counterparts (Field et al., 2000). Despite the increased attention being paid to stress and effective coping mechanisms (Somerfield & McCrae, 2000, cited in Iwasaki et al., 2005), there remains a paucity of gender-based research in this area. To date, Davidson and Fielden (1999) and Greenglass (1995) (both cited in Iwasaki et al.) maintained that stress research has concentrated mostly on men. According to these authors, "The current conceptualization of stress is based almost entirely on the normative perspectives of men, and existing measures of stress have been criticized as male-oriented, which may undermine their usefulness for assessing stress in women's lives" (Iwasaki et al., 2005, p. 2).

For example, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS, Holmes & Rahe, 19(57) and second generation scales, such as the Life Events Survey and the PERI Life Events Scale, which are popular in life-event approaches to stress research, have been criticized for their gender and cultural biases because "most were developed decades ago with all-male samples in particular occupational groups such as the U.S. Navy and U.S. college students" (Bell & Lee, 2002, p. 190). Furthermore, the Handbook of Coping: Theory, Research, Applications (Zeidner & Endler, 1996) and a special issue of American Psychologist on stress and coping research (Somerfield & McCrae, 2000), two landmark publications in this area, did not address the importance of gender and culture.

Although attention to the role of gender in stress coping has been limited, what is known suggests that women's methods of coping may not he exactly the same as men's. For example, women and men may cope with stress in different ways partly because women and men tend to encounter different sources or causes of stress. Unlike most employed fathers who primarily assume the breadwinner role (Davidson & Fielden, 1999; Schwartz, 1994), employed mothers, particularly those who have small children, must frequently balance numerous roles and responsibilities such as a disproportionate amount of home, work, and care-giving responsibilities. These forces all combine to result in unique gender-based stress experiences and/or methods of coping (Powell, 1999, cited in Iwasaki et al., 2005). Some of the studies to date have also suggested that there are psychosocial dimensions of gender that influence how stress affects an individual; for example, gender roles can influence the ways in which women and men cope with stress (Gianakos, 2002, cited in Iwasaki et al., 2005). Further, there are fundamental issues of inequality, discrimination, and sexism that contribute to the gendered nature of women's lives compared to men's lives (Ghorayski, 2002, cited in Iwasaki et al., 2005).

As noted above, more and more women with less and less experience has assumed the principalship of many American elementary schools today. Not surprisingly then, these female principals could reasonably be expected to experience some significantly higher incidences of stressful work-related conditions that their counterparts in other professions. According to Gordon, Katzman and Nasser, "As women have moved in increasing numbers into the spheres of education and work around the globe, expectations for achievement and performance have sometimes conflicted sharply with insistent demands for traditional postures of dependency and submissiveness as well as a renewed cult of physical appearance that has been fed by corporate forces" (p. 3). This view is supported by Crute who advises, "Women should be especially alert to the overwhelming stress of wearing three hats -- mom (or caregiver), wife, and professional. Several studies have shown that women not only work hard on the job, they often work harder at home, and have prolonged stress responses to negative relationships and higher levels of stress due to motherhood" (p. 36). Psychologist Shelley Taylor counsels female educators who are experiencing high levels of stress to use their "secret weapon":

Several different hormones are produced in women in response to stress. Oxytocin, boosted by estrogen, encourages women to tend to their and others' needs and seek out support from good friends in times of strain. Giving into that instinct may be a woman's best defense [and] reaching out is an important part of managing stress" (Crute, p. 37).

Levels of Stress for Elementary School Principals.

Just as the type of personality involved will affect how an individual responds to stressful situations, there will be different levels of stress experienced by elementary school principals depending on what type of political and economic situation exists in their school district. According to Copland, "If prompted, veteran principals will tell you that the expectations associated with the principalship have mushroomed over the past 20 years. Principals are now commonly portrayed as the key actors in school-level reform and face an audience of multiple constituencies who are ever more critical of their craft" (2001, p. 528). Unlike their counterparts in many other settings in the private sphere, for example, elementary school principals in particular are on the front lines of many of the battles being waged against the educational system since they are perhaps the most visible component from the parents' and media's perspective. In this regard, Copland points out that elementary school principals are:

Held accountable by superintendents, school boards, staff members, parents, the media, and community members, today's principals are charged with 'big picture' responsibilities to strike a vision, lead from the center, and build a community of learners. They must share decision making, link with external partners, and generally broaden the involvement of the community in shaping a vision for the school. In forging this shared vision, however, they remain centrally accountable for the ultimate success of any plans that are made. They are counted on to ensure learning for every pupil in an increasingly diverse student population, while at the same time they are charged with infusing new technologies throughout their schools and fostering the professional growth of faculty and staff members. (Copland, 2001, p. 528).

In fact, elementary school principals are becoming increasingly responsible for obtaining access to resources, developing and providing inservice training, identifying and disseminating relevant new information, and for juggling the complicated logistics involved in administering a typical elementary school as well as for setting a positive tone (Brotherson, Milburn, Schertz & Sheriff, 2001). Clearly, these are tall orders, and depending on the level of stress being experienced, these responsibilities and the stressful events associated with the elementary school setting can contribute to an individual's chances of developing symptoms of depression; however, the association between such life events and the actual incidence of depression remains unclear (Kessler, 1997). Nevertheless, a number of studies have been conducted over the past 20 years or so that primarily suggest the following: