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1 – 10 of 658Gökhan Arastaman and Aslı Çetinkaya
The aim of this study is to better understand how principals in Turkey perceive and navigate overwhelming stress and to identify leadership practices that enable coping with…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to better understand how principals in Turkey perceive and navigate overwhelming stress and to identify leadership practices that enable coping with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the stress factors, coping strategies and leadership experiences that the principals faced during the pandemic through semi-structured interviews with 12 school principals.
Findings
The results of the research showed that the stressors perceived by the principals were reflected in their leadership practices. The leadership practices of the principals in this period were interpreted as their reactions to perceived stressors. In addition, ensuring the self-care and well-being of principals has been evaluated as a prerequisite for successful crisis leadership. Leadership practices that are effective in achieving crisis leadership in the context of the pandemic are explained.
Practical implications
Implications were made for the development of a comprehensive theory of crisis leadership that focuses on the well-being of school leaders and the development of leadership skills. Further empirical research on how leadership is achieved in different types of crises is recommended.
Originality/value
Our research contributes to the existing knowledge and school leaders about how crisis leadership is achieved by revealing the complexity and multidimensional structure of school leadership in the context of the pandemic.
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MIKE MILSTEIN and JAMES FARKAS
The main body of literature that has developed about educator stress indicates ours is a profession marked by high levels of distressful encounters and that educators are not…
Abstract
The main body of literature that has developed about educator stress indicates ours is a profession marked by high levels of distressful encounters and that educators are not faring well in this environment. The authors believe this case is over‐stated and that education, as a field, is not nearly so marked by the littered casualties of distress that the literature would have us believe exist. This conclusion is founded on both a small literature base which holds a contrary point of view, and on three studies of administrators and teachers which consistently indicate educators are much more adaptable and consequently, less stressed, than we have been led to believe. The purpose of the first study was to identify the levels of stress school principals experience on the job and to investigate the impact of perceived locus of control and powerlessness on their stress levels. The second study examined the extent to which school principals' perceived level of stress is related to their role relationship with groups internal and external to the school organization. The goals of the third study were to establish the levels of teachers' perceived stress, the organizationally‐based factors that are most stress‐inducing, and the predominant ways in which teachers manifest stress. The results of these studies, with great consistency, indicate low educator stress. These findings have important implications for the development of new approaches to stress research and for policy decisions concerning allocation of organizational resources to stress management design and staff development.
WATER H. GMELCH and BOYD SWENT
This research was exploratory in nature, conducted in the context of a field study. A questionnaire was developed through a series of iterations, one important component of which…
Abstract
This research was exploratory in nature, conducted in the context of a field study. A questionnaire was developed through a series of iterations, one important component of which was the use of stress logs by a sample of administrators. The resultant instrument was completed by 1156 respondents from the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (elementary and secondary principals, superintendents, assistant superintendents and central office staff). Twelve stressors are identified and discussed. Although there are differences in responses, all members of the management team are shown to share many common stressors, e.g. complying with rules, attending meetings, completing reports on time.
Fadi Afif Fayyad, Filip Vladimir Kukić, Nemanja Ćopić, Nenad Koropanovski and Milivoj Dopsaj
The purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence of stress and to identify the occupational stressors among Lebanese police officers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence of stress and to identify the occupational stressors among Lebanese police officers.
Design/methodology/approach
Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-op) was addressed to 100 randomly selected male Lebanese Police officers. Twenty items from the PSQ-op were run through the principal component analysis to determine the most significant factors of stress and loading within each of the factors.
Findings
The results indicated that 59% of officers reported moderate stress level and 41% reported strenuous stress. Principal component analysis identified six independent factors or stress among Lebanese police officers explaining in total 72.1% of the total variance: excessive workload (30.6%), social-life time management (12.8%), occupational fitness (9.1%), success-related stress (8.6%), physical and psychological health (5.8%), and working alone at night (5.2%).
Research limitations/implications
This research approach encountered some limitations so further research must: use a larger sample size, include female gender and identify other sources of stressors mainly organizational or job context stressors.
Originality/value
Addressing and understanding stress factors among Lebanese police officers helps improving awareness and developing individualized treatment strategies leading police officers to engage in stress-management training to learn coping strategies and use effective tools for preventing stress before it becomes chronic.
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Sonya D. Hayes, Erin Anderson and Bradley W. Carpenter
This study centers the reflections of principals across the USA as they navigated the overwhelming stress of closing and reopening schools during a global pandemic. Specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
This study centers the reflections of principals across the USA as they navigated the overwhelming stress of closing and reopening schools during a global pandemic. Specifically, the authors explored how school principals addressed self-care and their own well-being during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This research study is part of a broader qualitative study conducted by 20 scholars from across the USA in Spring 2020 and organized by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). This national research team conducted 120 qualitative interviews with public school principals in 19 different states and 100 districts. As part of this team, the authors coded and analyzed all 120 transcripts in NVivo using a self-care framework.
Findings
The responses from the participants capture some of the complexity of self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors found evidence of both negative and positive sentiments towards self-care that will be described in five major themes. For the tensions with self-care, the authors developed two primary themes: leaders eat last and keep from falling off the cliff. For the demonstrations of self-care, the authors also developed three primary themes: release the endorphins, people need people and unplug from work.
Originality/value
Although researchers have identified the stressors and reactions of principals during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known on how principals engaged in self-care practices. This study aims to identify these self-care practices and offer recommendations for principals.
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Alaeldin Abdalla, Xiaodong Li and Fan Yang
Besides ensuring traditional project objectives, expatriate construction professionals (EXCPs) working on international projects face challenges adapting to unfamiliar…
Abstract
Purpose
Besides ensuring traditional project objectives, expatriate construction professionals (EXCPs) working on international projects face challenges adapting to unfamiliar environments with varying construction standards, work practices and cultural values. This puts them at a high risk of job burnout. Thus, this study aims to investigate the antecedents and outcomes of EXCPs' job burnout in the international construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the Job demands-resource model (JD-R), a theoretical framework was developed. Industry-specific stressors and expatriate management practices were identified using a literature review and interviews. The authors then used a questionnaire survey to collect data from Chinese EXCPs. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were then utilized to test hypotheses.
Findings
The findings indicate that early-career EXCPs experience the most severe levels of job burnout. The paths analysis proved the direct and indirect mitigating effects of expatriate management practices on job burnout, and EXCP's job burnout was associated with poor job performance and decreased intention to stay in the international assignment.
Originality/value
While prior research has explored job burnout among construction professionals working on domestic projects, little attention has been given to EXCPs and their unique challenges. This study aims to fill this critical gap in the literature by offering a unique perspective on the antecedents and outcomes of job burnout among EXCPs in international contexts and presents a significant contribution to understanding and addressing occupational health issues faced by EXCPs.
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Wai H. Cheuk, Kwok S. Wong and Sidney Rosen
Aims primarily to examine how stressful kindergarten principals as leaders and managers of their schools found their work to be, and if such job stress was related to negative…
Abstract
Aims primarily to examine how stressful kindergarten principals as leaders and managers of their schools found their work to be, and if such job stress was related to negative emotions and job satisfaction. The secondary aim was to explore if social support from a close friend could reduce and buffer job stress. Seventy‐seven kindergarten principals in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire containing the variables of interest. The results showed that the principals found their work to be moderately stressful. However, emotional and informational support from a close friend had beneficial impacts on stress.
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Eoin Whelan, Willie Golden and Monideepa Tarafdar
Social networking sites (SNS) are heavily used by university students for personal and academic purposes. Despite their benefits, using SNS can generate stress for many people…
Abstract
Purpose
Social networking sites (SNS) are heavily used by university students for personal and academic purposes. Despite their benefits, using SNS can generate stress for many people. SNS stressors have been associated with numerous maladaptive outcomes. The objective in this study is to investigate when and how SNS use damages student achievement and psychological wellbeing.
Design/methodology/approach
Combining the theoretical perspectives from technostress and the strength model of self-control, this study theoretically develops and empirically tests the pathways which explain how and when SNS stressors harm student achievement and psychological wellbeing. The authors test the research model through a two-wave survey of 220 SNS using university students.
Findings
The study extends existing research by showing that it is through the process of diminishing self-control over SNS use that SNS stressors inhibit achievement and wellbeing outcomes. The study also finds that the high use of SNS for academic purposes enhances the effect of SNS stressors on deficient SNS self-control.
Originality/value
This study further opens up the black box of the social media technostress phenomenon by documenting and validating novel processes (i.e. deficient self-control) and conditions (i.e. enhanced academic use) on which the negative impacts of SNS stressors depend.
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Alfred Huan Zhi Chan, Mohd Dahlan Malek and Ferlis Bahari
The purpose of this paper is to identify higher authority organizational stressors encountered by higher education deans.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify higher authority organizational stressors encountered by higher education deans.
Design/methodology/approach
This current research employed a qualitative approach utilizing a contextual paradigm with a multiple case study methodology.
Findings
Out of ten investigated deans in a public higher education institution in Malaysia, nine reported experiences of organizational stressor elements arising from higher authority. Three non-overlapping subthemes were systematically discovered.
Practical implications
Successful identification of these higher authority organizational stressors has implications for higher education management policies. Policies that reduce or eliminate these stressors may create a positive and progressive environment for deans and the higher education field.
Originality/value
This study will thus serve to promote a deeper understanding of higher authority organizational stressors encountered by higher education deans.
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Charles F. Webber and Shelleyann Scott
This chapter describes the assumptions underpinning the International Study of Principal Preparation. It outlines how cultural reference points for leadership have changed. It…
Abstract
This chapter describes the assumptions underpinning the International Study of Principal Preparation. It outlines how cultural reference points for leadership have changed. It explores the changing conceptualization of contemporary leadership, highlights the new economic dimensions of leading, and discusses the changing face of educational personnel. It notes that educational leaders must utilize knowledge of how technology has altered how we perceive the world, live our lives, relate to others, and practice our profession. It highlights the complexities for leaders who must thrive in a milieu characterized by a desire to preserve a civil society, balance student–professional–union–community needs, develop cultural literacies for learners, and respond to accountability demands. Other complexities include the multiple allegiances of leaders, conflicting loyalties of community members, varying levels of digital awareness, and the need for interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. The chapter closes with a set of principles and considerations for leadership development.