Call for principals to speak out on risks at work

With over half of Australia's 10,000 schools expecting their principals to retire within the next five years, action needs to be taken on the high risk environment in which they work, a Deakin University researcher believes.

In a keynote address delivered to The Legal Fund for State School Leaders conference in Adelaide (June 13) Professor Starr, who is chair of Deakin University's Centre for Educational Leadership and Renewal says it is time school principals broke their silence about the risks affecting their welfare at work.

"School leaders work in such high risk contexts with high risk consequences that the question that has to be asked is the risk too high, especially when they feel the need to establish the legal fund with their own money to protect their interests at work," Professor Starr said.

"Principals keep certain topics under wraps, they are 'undiscussable' if you like. Principals fear speaking out on these issues because of the effect on their job or reputation. "Yet by not doing so the problems aren't aired or resolved. Is it surprising it is difficult to attract people into this leadership role?"

Professor Starr said principals faced a number of risks each day. There were the daily risks of running a school ie litigation, critical incidents, industrial action, performance appraisal, Occupational Health and Safety matters, managing students just to name a few.

They were also exposed to professional, personal and psychological risks such as long working hours, stress, function creep and the effects of constant policy change. "The way principals are appointed and appraised puts them at risk, "Professor Starr said.

"Their contracts are usually three to five years so they are the most vulnerable employees in the school. But pressures come from all around: there is pressure to be compliant and accountable, there are increasing stakeholders in education and students and parents are becoming more demanding.

"There are many examples of staff members, parents, students even superintendents who have inflicted risk on a school leader in some way.

"Principals perceive that there is too little duty of care shown towards them by their employers and education unions compared with their fellow employees. They feel devalued, disempowered and overwhelmed and so in several states they are taking industrial matters in their own hands and setting up their own fighting funds."

Professor Starr said the issues principals didn't speak publicly about included:

• Central directives that do not work
• The continuing inequalities in educational outcomes in Australian schools which are blamed on poor performing schools or incapable teachers, rather than the social inequalities
• Concerns about central or regional control being in the hands of people who have never been school leaders and who simply 'don't understand'
• The difficultly in firing incompetent teachers
• The problem that teachers and principals belong to the same union, rendering principals unsupported when teacher claims are brought against them
• Competition rather than collegiality in some education systems
• The concern that principals cannot admit to being stressed for fear of negative ramifications
• The concern about principals' health being negatively affected by the job but not having the time to make changes