ABSTRACT
The mental health needs of school principals have been consistently overlooked in the field of educational leadership and in the preparation and professional development of principals. This mixed-method study compares rates of burnout and secondary trauma of principals in one urban school district along the U.S.-Mexico border with other human-service professionals and provides examples of how two principals experienced burnout and secondary trauma. Most principals reported low rates of burnout and secondary trauma, but follow-up interviews with two newer principals revealed significant exposure to trauma. Findings inform new directions for research and new emphases for preparation.
Notes
1. The MBI-ES measures emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment while the ProQOL measures compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary trauma. The survey uses prompts and Likert scales; for example: “I feel emotionally drained from my work” and “I feel depressed because of the traumatic experiences of the people I [help].”
2. All names used in this study are pseudonyms.
3. The Texas Education Agency uses the term economically disadvantaged to describe a student who is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or eligible for other public assistance. We use the term free or reduced-price lunch (FRL) in this article because economically disadvantaged is not a nationally or internationally recognized term.
4. According to the 2018 federal poverty guidelines, the federal poverty threshold for a family of four is $25,100.