Principal survey 2019: School leaders suffer violence
Victoria’s principals are facing shockingly high rates of physical violence as researchers anticipate a strong shift in the community’s view of educators following the pandemic.
Education
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VICTORIA’s principals are 10 times more likely to suffer physical violence than the general population.
A study from ACU and Deakin University found two in five of the state’s school leaders had experienced physical violence from students or their parents.
Half of principals have also reported being threatened with violence, the 2019 annual wellbeing survey found.
The startling figures come while more than a quarter of the nation’s principals are over 60 and nearing retirement.
“It should be no surprise that fewer educators are willing to step up and take on the increasingly-complex role of school principal,” Deakin University Professor Phil Riley said. “The low replacement rate for retiring school principals tells a truly dire story about our education system which should concern us all and needs further investigation.”
But he believed school shutdowns due to the pandemic had reminded the community of the vital roles teachers and principals play in the lives of children and families.
“We know from anecdotal evidence that many parents, although impacted themselves, are deeply appreciative of this work by principals and educators,” he said.
“We hope this points to a future in which there is greater awareness and acknowledgment of the many stresses and challenges that principals face on a regular basis as they lead their students and staff.”
Victorian Principals Association president Anne-Maree Kliman said she believed the pandemic had strengthened relationships between staff and parents.
While she had been told of some cases of parents being aggressive towards or “taking out their on anxieties” on staff during remote learning, those cases had been rare.
She said principals had reported that families were expressing “a lot more gratitude and appreciation” for educators during distance education.
“I’m hearing from a lot of my members there is a greater number of thanks coming in for what they’re doing and a deeper understanding,” she said.
Ms Kliman hoped when schools went back on-campus, they continued to look at the things that worked well during lock down, including the possibility of greater autonomy for some students and strong communication between staff and parents.
In response to the annual leaders’ wellbeing survey, Victoria introduced workplace changes for principals in 2017.
Since then, Victorian principals now report the equal lowest number of ‘red flags’ for all states and territories, including issues with alcohol or medication abuse, or trouble sleeping.
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