School leadership today is increasingly characterised by emotional demands. Stress, increased workloads and complex relational challenges affect principals’ ability to remain in the profession – in Sweden as well as internationally. This seminar presents two ongoing sister research projects from Australia and Sweden that highlight a crucial yet insufficiently recognised dimension of principals’ work: emotional labour.
In Australia, Jane Wilkinson and Christine Grice, together with colleagues, have over the past three years studied emotional labour among principals in public schools, against the backdrop of ongoing challenges in recruiting school leaders and retaining them in the profession. The project takes as its point of departure principals’ central role in creating safe and socially cohesive school environments within increasingly diverse student populations – work that requires advanced emotional and relational skills. Jane and Christine will participate in the seminar in person in Gothenburg.
The Swedish sister project, led by Lill Langelotz, Åsa Hirsh and Anette Forssten Seiser, has been running for just over a year and focuses on the everyday work of lower secondary school principals in a context marked by increased threats, exceptional events and frequent contact with guardians, the police, social services and other actors in the local school community. Principals’ relational and affective work is at the centre of the project, with particular attention paid to how emotional labour takes shape in everyday leadership.
During the seminar, Jane and Christine will present findings and insights from the Australian project, while Lill, Åsa and Anette will highlight preliminary results from the Swedish study. The seminar will conclude with a joint discussion on principals’ emotional labour in challenging times: How can principals be better supported? What implications might the research have for policy, education and practice?
About the research projects
For more information about the two sister projects, please visit:
About the organizer
The Collegium for School Development and Educational Leadership offer a platform where academics and practitioners can meet and discuss school development and educational leadership. Learn more on the collegium's web page.
