This symposium examines substantial challenges in the principals’ role that have been further exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic, drawing on research into the principalship conducted in England, Sweden, Australia, and Finland.  The rationale for this examination is that internationally, schooling systems are facing a principal recruitment and retention crisis (Riley et al., 2021, Heffernan & Pierpoint, 2022). In nations such as Australia, England, and Sweden, stress and burnout, due to increasingly complex social conditions and workload intensification, is leading to an exodus of school leaders and a reluctance from teachers to apply for the principalship. In Sweden, for example, heavy workloads and stress appear to be the main reasons why Swedish principals quit (Thelin & Lund, 2023).  In Australia, an annual survey of principals’ occupational health, safety and wellbeing reported 29 per cent of principals were at significant risk of burnout and self-harm - the highest level since the survey commenced in 2011 (See et al., 2022).

Quality educational leadership is instrumental in achieving nations’ aims for fairer, more democratic and socially cohesive societies. The attraction and retention of high-quality educators into the principalship and lower turnover has been shown to accrue significant social benefits: positively impacting teacher retention, school-community engagement and students’ outcomes, particularly for pupils from more marginalised backgrounds (Bartanen et al., 2019; Kelchtermans, 2017). The impact of a principal attraction and retention crisis is significant for students and communities from disadvantaged backgrounds and schools.

Principals’ work historically has been stressful, involving a constant juggle of often-conflicting demands of multiple stakeholders. However, what is new and what this symposium will address are increasing challenges in the role exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic. Each paper addresses different aspects of these challenges, drawing on a range of theoretical tools and methods. Papers cover a range of topics:  The English study draws on a three-phase research project on school leaders’ work during and after lockdown. This research shows that during the pandemic there were considerable affective costs on school staff, with care leadership roles (pastoral, welfare and safeguarding) extended with increasing poverty, unrecognised, and disproportionately experienced by female members of staff. 

A Swedish research team is studying how community-context-related particularities and challenges contribute to shaping the leadership of principals in schools in urban low socioeconomic status communities, with a particular focus on aspects concerning the principals’ emotional labour. The study also aims to explain principals’ emotional labour in light of the cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements that frame their leading practices.

The Australian research examines the emotional labour of educational leading in socially volatile times. Employing the theory of practice architectures, it draws on critical incident testimonies contributed by Australian principals in 2023-2024 in which they reflected on the incident’s emotional impact and key learnings. The paper aims to build new knowledge about the heightened emotional dynamics shaping principals’ work; the dialectical interactions between these emotional dimensions and the contextual and systemic arrangements that influence principals’ labour.

A Finnish research team sheds light on principals’ job crafting, which emerged as a potent strategy helping educators to navigate the contemporary educational terrain marked by increasing uncertainty. Specifically, this study seeks to explore the potential of job crafting in increasing occupational well-being through fostering the development of crucial personal resources, such as curiosity and resilience.

In sum, the objective of this symposium is to collectively explore “the challenges, uncertainties and unstable ground that characterises” the principals’ role and bring to light unrecognised and crucial aspects of their roles whilst also examining how such an exploration can “assist us in addressing current and future needs, challenges and opportunities” (ECER 2024 Call).

Bartanen, B., Grissom, J. A., & Rogers, L. K. (2019). The Impacts of Principal Turnover. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 41(3), 350-374. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373719855044 Heffernan, A., & Pierpoint, A. (2022). Attracting and Retaining Australia’s Principals. Australian Secondary Principals' Association. Kelchtermans, G. (2017). ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ Teachers & Teaching, 23(8), 961-977. DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2017.1379793 Riley, P., See, S-M., Marsh, H., & Dicke, T. (2021). The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey 2020 Survey. Sydney: Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University. https://www.principalhealth.org/reports/2020_AU_Final_Report.pdf See, S-M, Kidson, P, Marsh, H, & Dicke, T. (2022). The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey, ACU. https://www.healthandwellbeing.org/reports/AU/2022_ACU_Principals_HWB_Final_Report.pdf Thelin, K., & Lund, S. (2023). Rektorers rörlighet i Sverige: en kunskapsöversikt [Principals' mobility in Sweden: a knowledge overview]. Utbildning & Lärande, 17(3), 1–16.