Tired school leaders facing "decision fatigue"
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 2, 11 March 2022, page no.13
“My school holidays ended on 4 January when the emails, messages, phone calls, complex questions and issues arising from the vaccine mandate and the current COVID situation began to roll out, day after day”
This QTU principal member was not alone in reporting a premature end to their holidays. After nearly two years of dealing with the ever-changing COVID situation, school leaders are tired and suffering from “decision fatigue”.
The decisions constantly being released through the media during weekends and holiday periods have placed extra burdens on school leaders, who are seen as the people with the knowledge by parents, community and staff, even though they have very little information themselves.
There were several issues around the start of the 2022 year, including mixed messaging, multiple messages, delays in providing information, and the need to have everything in place with very little lead-in time.
It is the very nature of being an educator to want the best for students, the community and others in the workplace, but being there constantly for everyone has taken its toll and is impacting on school leader health and wellbeing.
School leaders understand that these are “unprecedented times”, but this has gone on for two years now. As one school leader wrote to the Union: “The impact and increase in workload as a leader is not measurable.
“I wake up thinking about ‘what if’ scenarios, I go to sleep thinking about ‘what if’. It is emotionally draining being so ‘present’ for ALL – staff and students and parents. It is exhausting, and it does not stop.
“Each day there is the same level of activity in relation to this and we are supposed to be leading the core business of the school as well – teaching and learning for the best outcomes for our students while trying to support and maintain staff energy and engagement in their ‘being present’ for the kids they teach.”
COVID-related absences exacerbated the teacher shortage at the beginning of this year, with school leaders having to spend significant periods of time recruiting teachers or even having to take classes themselves to ensure students had a teacher in front of them.
While some may say we are nearing the end of the pandemic, there are clearly lessons to be learned and things to be improved upon. The QTU will be making sure that the feedback from our Education Leaders’ Committee and the school leaders who wrote to the Union is communicated to the department.
And the pandemic has not been the only issue which has been impacting on workload and the health and wellbeing of school leaders. Other issues to have been raised so far this year include recruitment and selection processes, the “broken” relocation system, and vexatious and unrelenting parental complaints.
These issues have been referred to the QTU’s Education Leaders’ Committee, which is meeting in March to finalise the QTU’s School Leader Strategy. This is being developed on the basis of the discussions and issues raised at the statewide School Leader Forums in 2021.