The Flourishing of School Principals: An Intervention Study

Abstract

The paper reports the findings of a 12-month-long action learning intervention study involving 13 groups of school principals and other school leaders. It was developed in response to a pressing need in school principals to improve their levels of stress, wellbeing, work-family balance, and recovery, caused in part by their isolation. With theoretical underpinning from the human flourishing literature, professional development focused on improving the connectiveness of participants while lessons from positive psychology were being embedded. The intervention itself consisted of an integrated set of techniques designed into four one-day workshops over a 12-month period plus development activities spaced between the workshops. The techniques were drawn from psychology, health, human resource management, and other fields in a unique and context-specific design. Specific techniques included practices from positive psychology, mindfulness, the Third Space (Fraser, 2012), job crafting, acceptance and commitment therapy and work-life changes. The process involved significant relationship support within the action learning groups and through the use of buddies. The outcomes of the intervention were measured both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show significant reductions in stress and increases in wellbeing, work-family balance, and recovery. In the discussion, the applicability of this intervention for use in other countries and contexts with school leaders, school principals and head teachers is discussed.