Principals’ emotions in school improvement: the role of people, practices, policies, and patterns

ABSTRACT

The work of principals has become increasingly challenging and complex, as they are expected to lead school improvement, manage -a host of competing demands, and attend to the needs of diverse stakeholders. However, the emotions related to principals’ work, particularly in relation to educational reform, has been understudied in recent years. This paper investigates the emotional dimensions of principals’ work with respect to school improvement and change, and how the people, practices, policies, and patterns in their school contexts intersect with their emotions and actions. Analyzing 42 interviews with 19 U.S. principals engaged in reform, we explain how managing change and teacher staffing and collaboration were particularly emotional processes for principals. Principals acted as mediators and managers of the emotional climate of their schools while also processing their own emotions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• School leadership
• emotions
• educational change
• principals

Acknowledgements

This paper draws from data gathered on research studies funded by the Spencer Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the funders. We wish to sincerely thank the participants of this study who gave generously of their time to share their experiences with us and welcomed us into their work settings. We are also greatly indebted to our project team colleagues for their support in data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vicki Park

Vicki Park (she/her) is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. Her research examines how social actors make meaning of reform and the ways in which interactions in multiple policy contexts shape implementation processes.

Amanda Datnow

Amanda Datnow is Professor and Chancellor's Associates Endowed Chair in the Department of Education Studies and Associate Dean of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on educational reform and policy, particularly with regard to issues of equity and the professional lives of educators.