Violence, school refusal and teacher shortages fuel principals’ stress
“Angry, violent and abusive’’ students are assaulting school principals at record rates, driving many to quit or retire early. See which states have the most school violence.
Violent parents, suicidal students and teacher shortages are pushing stressed school principals to quit at record rates, a survey of nearly 2500 Australian school leaders reveals.
At least 44 per cent of principals were victims of physical violence last year – the highest level since the Australian Catholic University began its annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey in 2011.
School leaders are now 11 times more at risk of experiencing physical violence at work, than the general population.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the findings were “alarming’’.
“You can see the impact of this in teachers and principals leaving the profession early, burnt out and worn out,’’ he said.
ACU investigator and former principal Paul Kidson called for better behaviour among parents and students, and cuts to the red tape entangling school leaders in administrative tasks and paperwork.
“Our research shows abuse and intimidation towards principals and the associated health risks suffered by school leaders continues to grow and it must stop,’’ he said.
“We are seeing a severe escalation in stress levels.’’
Three times more principals plan to quit or retire early, compared to surveys before the pandemic. And for the first time in the 12 years of surveys, teacher shortages have jumped into the top three sources of stress, along with workload and lack of time to focus on teaching and learning.
The mental health issues of students and staff – including suicide – are the fourth and fifth most stressful issues for school leaders.
Principals noted high anxiety among students, with rising rates of “school refusal’’, vaping and self-harm or suicide ideation. Among staff, burnout, stress and anxiety were major concerns for principals.
The survey shows that 44 per cent of principals suffered physical violence, with 10 per cent injured by parents and 42 per cent by students. Violence from students affected 80.5 per cent of principals in the ACT, three-quarters in the Northern Territory, and at least half in Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania.
Nearly half of the principals were threatened with violence, with one in three threatened by parents and 38 per cent by students.
A female primary school principal from Western Australia told the survey that schools were “a different world’’ post-pandemic.
“I am now dealing with high levels of playground violence, high rates of severe mental health, violence against teachers, and parents who can’t accept their child being reprimanded or punished when their child had engaged in violence in a school,’’ she said.
“Throwing more money at staff is not the answer – conditions need to be better.”
A primary Catholic school principal in NSW reported a rise in the number of students, “particularly boys, who are disrespectful – angry, violent and abusive in language’’.
Australian Primary Principals Association president Malcolm Elliott said teacher shortages were forcing many principals back to classroom teaching, on top of their leadership duties.
“The workload is building up,’’ he said. “Parents are suffering mental health issues and so are their children, with many presenting with anxiety and worrying about everything. We’ve had floods, fire and pestilence and people have had to deal with that.’’
Australian Secondary Principals Association president Andrew Pierpoint said more teachers were teaching “out of field’’, such as English teachers taking maths or science classes. The ACU survey shows that principals are working an average of 56 hours a week.
Mr Clare said one of his first actions as Education Minister was to bring state and territory ministers together to “do something about’’ teacher shortages.
He said the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, released late last year, was “not a panacea, not perfect – but it’s a start’’.
Lifeline 13 11 44
More Coverage
Chalmers dilutes mergers overhaul
The Treasurer’s decision follows industry concerns that the reforms were too complex, risked stifling investment and could kneecap deal-making activity.
‘Trauma’ guide for judges to go woke
Judges should be ‘trauma-informed’ when dealing with Indigenous defendants, and recognise the ‘clear moral and ethical guidelines’ offered to Muslim defendants, a new guidebook says.