ABSTRACT
Principals are critical for school improvement, but work-related stress threatens leadership sustainability. While stress is increasingly examined among principals, the impacts on indicators of health such as anxiety, depression, and sleep are under-explored. In other fields, these factors are implicated in long-term health effects and negative occupational outcomes. This mixed-methods study explores principals’ overall health, sleep quality using actigraphy watches, and perceptions of leadership self-efficacy in eight principals. Findings show principals struggled with health issues and disrupted sleep patterns which affected their leadership self-efficacy and intentions to stay in their professions. Recommendations for practice, policy, and future directions are included.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).