Some emotional labour performed by school principals can be described as care work. Drawing on data from a broader study into Australian government principals' emotional labour, this article explores how care is performed by 40 principals who shared their feelings about managing a critical incident via a national qualitative survey. We found that principals' care could be categorised in five ways: caring about, caring for others, self-preservation, being not cared for and working with others to develop collective-know-how. This heuristic, and thus our analysis of principal testimony data, is informed by the feminist theorising of key scholars who explore care as labour in neoliberal contexts. We show that for the principals in our study, individualised and instrumentalist approaches to care continue to dominate over system and/or collective care infrastructures. We interrogate the challenges and possibilities that emerge in the context of this dynamic and argue that while departmental systems and protocols can support principals to perform care work in their schools, these systems do not include sufficient care for principals themselves and are not structured in ways that encourage collective caring practices.
Teacher leadership is vital for school improvement, yet little is known about the varied patterns of engagement or the factors supporting teachers' leadership development. This study used latent profile analysis, a person-centered approach designed to identify unobserved subgroups based on shared profiles of teacher leadership engagement, among 656 Nevada elementary teachers. Five distinct profiles emerged, and random forest classification was used to examine the most influential predictors differentiating profile membership. Equitable access to leadership opportunities most strongly differentiated the lowest and moderate profiles, indicating that school climate operates as a gateway to initial leadership engagement. In contrast, teaching experience and instructional innovation emerged as the most influential factors distinguishing moderate and high profiles, suggesting that advanced leadership requires both accumulated professional expertise and ongoing pedagogical innovation. These results call for differentiated approaches to teacher leadership development, emphasising inclusive structures for emergent leaders and professional development focused on instructional innovation for more experienced teachers.
The ongoing digital transformation is forcing changes both in society and education. This qualitative study identifies the challenges faced by school leaders in Poland in the context of the development of students' digital competences. The research process combined an analysis of strategic national educational policy documents (legal acts and national strategies) regarding digitization and the development of digital competencies with empirical data collected through six focus group interviews with school principals and educational leaders, as well as in-depth interviews with decision-makers, researchers, experts, and representatives of non-governmental organisations. The collected material was analysed using thematic analysis supported by MAXQDA software. The results reveal that education policy documents shaping the Polish education system strongly emphasise the importance of both digital competences and modern technologies in the learning process. However, these policies primary focus on organisational and infrastructural challenges related to the introduction of technology in schools. Key policy priorities include access to technological devices, creating conditions that facilitate the effective use of digital tools, and regulations ensuring student safety. The findings indicate that the practical implementation of these measures extends beyond such elements. School leaders clearly point to a gap between educational policy assumptions and every school management practice in developing students' digital competences. The insights from this study highlight the urgent need for more coherent and context-sensitive policy frameworks, which may also offer guidance for addressing similar challenges in other educational systems.
Educational inequalities have become one of the most urgent challenges in contemporary education in Poland. School leaders are pivotal in addressing these disparities, yet they often face structural and socio-economic barriers that hinder the implementation of inclusive policies. Drawing on Durkheim and Merton's theory, the research identifies two dimensions of anomie: organisational infeasibility and leadership disintegration. Using qualitative methods, including focus groups and individual interviews with educational leaders, the study reveals a disconnect between policy expectations and practical realities. Research results indicate that anomie encompasses two dimensions: a breakdown in organisational feasibility and a breakdown in educational leadership.
The role of the high school principal has evolved significantly over the past few decades, becoming increasingly complex and requiring an orientation towards fostering both student and adult learning. Using learning-oriented leadership model, this qualitative study examined how six urban high school principals conceptualised and implemented adult learning practices. Despite competing demands, we find these principals viewed their role as critical in fostering conditions for teacher learning, including creating collaborative environments and positioned themselves and others as continuous learners. Simultaneously, they faced challenges in facilitating teacher ownership of professional learning. The study suggests that principals can build capacity for adult learning by first implementing core practices aligned with the learning-oriented model and then, gradually, expand their approach towards shifting other cultural norms. Our findings reinforce the need for district leaders, policymakers, and researchers to work together to ensure principals are supported and that the shift towards learning-centred leadership is integrated into broader school improvement strategies. Overall, this study underscores the pivotal role of principals in promoting adult learning and outlines best practices for leading such initiatives in today's schools.
