Work intensification has heightened and accelerated the need for Canadian school principals to manage their emotions. This case explores the emotional aspects of a contemporary principal's work in a large urban school and highlights effective coping strategies and approaches used to regulate her emotions. The teaching notes describe several…

This case explores themes of equity, leadership, wellbeing, and work intensification. The case follows Jennifer "Jen" Barns, the new principal at Westfield Public School, a JK-8 school in Ontario. Jen is overwhelmed by all the responsibilities of the job. She does not have a productive working relationship with her staff and is unable to…

This case study follows Maggie, a principal of a large urban elementary school, as she navigates principalship as a woman, revealing various gendered discourses along the way. Maggie recognizes gender as a factor and makes distinctions between male and female ways of leading. She reveals some of the barriers she faces as a female principal and…

This case describes the experience of a principal named Jade working in a diverse school in South Central Ontario. A teacher in Jade's school had been confronted by parents and a school board trustee for reading a book to their class about a family with two moms. The teacher, no longer feeling safe or welcome, eventually decided to switch schools.…

This case examines a rural teaching principal in a small K-12 school in a prairie province. The case examines the work intensification of Mrs. Hayes, whose school has been affected by reductions in student enrolment, staffing, and administrative time. Overwhelmed by myriad responsibilities, the principal feels inadequate as both a teacher and a…

One of the most coveted benefits of teaching in an independent school is that, in many schools, the educator's child can attend tuition-free or at a significant discount. But as any educator who has taken advantage of this benefit knows, having dual roles in a school--that of school administrator or teacher and parent of a student attending the…

There is not much research on the effectiveness of co-principals. A simple Google search reveals how many schools have implemented the idea. What little is written was written either in the early 1980's or within the last few years. Very little focuses specifically on high schools. The idea of co-principals has been used to devote more time to…

Presents suggestions to help teachers who must work with difficult principals, offering 10 ideas for how to make meetings with such principals more effective. The paper also notes what to do if the principal is unreachable and describes how four teachers handled their own problems with difficult principals. (SM)

One of the fundamental truths of education is that effective schools are created and sustained largely through effective leadership. While it is possible for strong leaders to help a school overcome problems and weaknesses, rarely is it possible for a school to rise above its leadership in order to achieve success. Both education lore and research…

Many districts are struggling with the problem of administrator retention. Hoffman (2004) identifies some of the reasons for this: (1) Increased accountability expectations; (2) Diminished or static levels of resources to support reform efforts; (3) Greater administrator vulnerability to sanctions; (4) The complex demands of government and the…

Prepared to assist teachers who are using the case in class discussion, this case study describes a suburban, college-preparatory high school located in the pseudonymously named "Northwood," a midwestern "rust belt" city characterized by rapidly shifting demographics and a growing commercial tax base. Although the city is now…

This study examined the work-related stress experienced by principals and teachers in public schools. The researchers worked under the assumption that some of the stress related to a job situation comes from the environment. Condensed versions of two questionnaires developed by Williams (measuring stress experienced by teachers) and Jankovich…