Meaning of work in a group of school principals

What is it about?

The meaning people attribute to their work influences the quality of their work experience, as well as their performance. Despite there's a certain degree of agreement on the effect of personal and organizational dimensions affecting the meaningfulness of one's own job, some jobs may be so peculiar to require a specific definition of meaning of work. This is the case for school principals, who seem to have a double role. From one side, they are helping professionals, dealing with teachers, students and their families, from the other, they are administrators, dealing with bureaucracy and organizational issues. This study shows that school principals derive the meaning of their job from both personal dimensions (job satisfaction) and organizational variables (role clarity, possibilities for development, sense of control).

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Why is it important?

Psychological research usually focuses on teacher wellbeing, neglecting the role of principal health and wellbeing when it comes to manage and organize schools. In this study we tackle such topics, considering the role of the meaning attributed to their work, and which aspects their role contribute to construct that meaning.

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