| dc.description.abstract | Summary
Research consistently concludes that school leadership impacts both directly and indirectly on a myriad of school factors (Grisson et al., 2021; Leithwood et al., 2020; Day et al., 2016; Harris and Jones, 2020). Over the last two decades (2000-2020), the Irish education system has been subject to rapid policy changes, particularly in the area of school leadership (Murphy, 2020) and little research is available which explores how principals are navigating their role and coping within this new policy environment.
This exploratory study sought to address this gap in the research, by examining the role of the principal, in a selection of primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. It endeavoured to gain a deeper understanding of the practices, challenges and supports principals associate with their role and to examine to what extent, if any, the context of their school impacts on their duties, responsibilities, and experiences in the role.
As this research was concerned with exploring the perceptions of a selection of principals, an interpretivist theoretical perspective underpinned this study, with a relativist ontology and constructionist epistemology adopted. A qualitative, single-case study approach was employed, with two data collection methods utilised: documentary analysis and interviews.
Firstly, government circulars and publications from the years 2000-2020 were examined. From these official documents, eight were selected for further analysis, as these documents had a significant impact on the role of the principal.
Secondly, 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with serving Irish primary school principals, from a variety of school contexts and denominations. Participating principals were from large, medium sized and small schools, incorporating the categories of non-DEIS, DEIS band 1, DEIS band 2 and rural DEIS. 21 interviews were conducted from November 2019 until March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions resulted in interviews moving remotely. 11 telephone interviews were carried out from June to July 2020. The interviews were transcribed verbatim. The analyses involved multiple readings of the transcripts, coding, and the identification of emergent themes.
The most notable findings which emerged from the data are outlined below.
? The role of the principal is multidimensional, spanning managerial, administrative, pedagogical and leadership domains. There is ambiguity concerning the exact role and responsibilities of the principal. As the requirements of the role continue to expand in both volume and complexity, principals and other stakeholders require clarity over which tasks and responsibilities fall under their remit.
? Devolving responsibilities for initiatives such as Droichead, School Self-Evaluation and Fitness to Teach to principals is adding to their workload. Despite an apparent increase in autonomy in these areas, principals are constrained by policy requirements and measures to demonstrate compliance. Principals reported prioritising managerial tasks over leadership focused activities. Most administrative principals felt a disconnection from the children, while all principals felt time constraints impacted on their ability to be instructional leaders.
? The expansion and intensification of the role was noted by all principals. In addition to the increased workload, the major challenges evident are the changes to special education provision, a crisis in teacher recruitment and the notable increase in bureaucracy, with increases in mandatory paperwork. This is leading to role overload, role strain and role stress, as principals attempt to manage multiple and sometimes conflicting demands simultaneously. This is impacting on well-being, with many principals reporting their physical or mental health negatively affected by their role. This is contributing to difficulties in recruiting and retaining principals, as most principals believe the role is not sustainable in its current form. The Department of Education might consider working with principal bodies, such as the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) and the National Association for Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) to create a realistic role descriptor, to address issues of role ambiguity, role conflict and role strain. Additional initiatives need to be developed to specifically address principal well-being.
? Distributed leadership, as depicted in national policy is not being implemented as intended. There is uncertainty regarding the amount of responsibility that can be delegated to middle leaders. Currently, principals are delegating managerial tasks rather than sharing leadership responsibilities. | en |
