“I am here for the students”: principals’ perception of accountability amid work intensification

Abstract

Increasing job duties and responsibilities associated with the changing role of school principals have prompted even greater accountability. As a result, principals are faced with competing demands and expectations in various forms of accountability from multiple stakeholders. This study examines principals’ perception of accountability in the context of work intensification with a particular focus on the question of “accountable to whom and why.” A total of 1434 practicing principals responded to an online survey that sought to determine the groups and individuals to whom principals feel accountable, and why principals feel accountable to those particular individuals or groups. The survey achieved a response rate of 52.68%. The research results show balancing competing accountabilities concerning students has become a daunting task for school principals. The competing if not conflicting expectations from (federal and state/provincial) educational authorities, teachers, parents, students, and various interest groups often pose significant challenges to principals’ work and add to the complexity of principals’ role. The unrealistic expectations imposed on principals make it imperative to critically examine the changing role of school principals and identify essential and legislatively mandated duties and responsibilities of principalship to better reflect and address their intensified work realities.

Enacting accountability reforms in Brazil: the mediating role of school leadership

“…Pressure from accountability reforms influences the tasks, roles and challenges faced by principals. Within accountability environments, principals must respond to multiple responsibilities and demands at any one time (Wang et al, 2022), such as providing vision and school goals, ensuring good teaching and learning, monitoring curriculum and student results, and managing and Práxis Educativa, Ponta Grossa, v. 18, e20774, p. 1-21, 2023 Disponível em: <https://www.revistas2.uepg.br/index.php/praxiseducativa> 4 allocating resources (Day et al, 2008). In accountability reform contexts, principals' priorities have also changed.…”

“…The existing literature on school leadership from an accountability perspective acknowledges that principals operate in a complex and dynamic environment, experiencing multiple, often conflicting pressures, which derive from different sources and purposes (Shipps & White, 2009;Wang, Hauseman & Pollock, 2022). In addition to the external pressures, principals can also experience internal accountability demands, such as those deriving from professional judgement (i.e., professional accountability) or their moral obligations and sense of duty (i.e., moral responsibility).…”

Predicting students’ multidimensional learning outcomes in public secondary schools: The roles of school facilities, administrative expenses and curriculum

“…In the education sector, most studies have focused on school leaders' budgeting (Sinclair & Malen, 2021), accountability (Keddie & Holloway, 2020;Paletta et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2022), cost-sharing (Alazmi & Al-Kubaisi, 2020;Hayes & Burkett, 2021), internal revenue generation (Mbah & Onuora, 2018;Odigwe, 2020;Onyeche, 2018) fund management (Aliyu, 2018;Odigwe & Owan, 2022;Owan et al, 2021), and resource procurement practices (Buys et al, 2020;Prabhakar et al, 2022) and other related constructs. Although some of these variables are tied to administrative expenses in one or the other (for example, resource procurement), the extent to which principals' day-to-day expenditure predicts students' outcomes was not the focus of the cited studies.…”

Leveraging State Policy to Promote School Counselor–Principal Collaboration

“…Even when cognizant of comprehensive school counseling programs or standards-based school counseling frameworks exist, school principals may require school counselors to perform clerical or quasi-administrative functions due to limited school resources and increased pressure (Kirchner & Setchfield, 2005). Just as they have for school counselors, the workload and level of accountability have consistently increased for principals (Wang et al, 2022). However, the consequence of deploying school counselors in this manner is a lack of collaboration between school counselors and school principals, constraining both parties’ ability to leverage social capital and reducing the resources that flow from relationships (Coleman, 1988; Unger et al, 2021).…”