More principals want out

Classroom crisis spreads to the highest levels

THE number of principals wanting to quit or retire early has soared by a third, while others fear their staff are turning to drink and drugs, a shocking new report will reveal.

An exclusive look at findings from a survey of 2500 Australian principals shows the crisis in our schools is also affecting those at the top as they try to manage their own declining mental health, along with that of their staff and students.

The annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey to be released next month, will show 98 per cent of school leaders said they were worried about their staff burning out. Eight per cent flagged the issue of teachers abusing alcohol and or drugs as a concern.

Principals said they were also worried staff were suffering from stress, anxiety and depression, while anxiety, school refusal, depression, stress and self-harm were what concerned them the most about their students.

In 2019, clinical and health psychologist Dr Peta Stapleton found 17 per cent of teachers met criteria for probable alcohol dependence – three times higher than the national average. She said it appeared they were turning to substances to manage their stress and anxiety. “At the time we thought, ‘oh wow, that’s high’, but that was before Covid, so it would most likely be even higher now,” Dr Stapleton said.

When it came to their own health, principals ranked heavy workloads and a lack of time to focus on the core responsibilities of teaching and learning as their top two concerns.

National teacher shortages ranked third – an issue that came 12th in the 2021 survey results, showing the problem had escalated. Mental-health issues among students and staff rounded out their top five sources of stress.

The survey, run by the Australian Catholic University, also found the number of principals saying they wanted to quit or retire early had tripled since before Covid.

Survey investigator and former principal Dr Paul Kidson said the results pointed to a worrying trend. “This data shows serious dashboard warning lights flashing all over the place,” Dr Kidson said.

“These are warning signs that we have not seen so acutely before, and we have almost 2500 people saying the same thing. Principals’ workloads, stress

caused by issues including the national teacher shortage across public, Catholic, and independent schools, and demands outside the classroom have escalated to unsustainable levels.

Co-lead investigator and school wellbeing expert, Associate Professor Theresa Dicke, said the impact of wideranging stressors on school leaders, including teacher shortages, was becoming acute.

She said principals needed support.

“The fact that these stressors remain the same as in 2021 indicates the level of importance in addressing these concerns,” she said.