School Leadership Well-Being: Stressors, Enablers, and Impact on Leadership Practices and Educational Outcomes

Dear Colleagues,

The well-being, job satisfaction, and resilience of K-12 school leaders have become increasingly important topics in educational research due to the complex and high-stakes demands they face. This Special Issue of Education Sciences seeks to explore these critical areas, with a focus on the unique stressors experienced by leaders in diverse high-needs environments, as well as the challenges faced by women leaders and leaders of color. K-12 school leaders face chronic stress and high burnout rates, largely due to their multifaceted and complex responsibilities, which significantly impact their performance, career longevity, and school effectiveness.

Despite its importance, the well-being of school leaders has historically received limited empirical attention, with more research focus on teacher well-being and student outcomes. This Special Issue aims to explore how factors such as organizational support, professional preparation and learning opportunities, accountability pressures, resources, state and district policies, and the social dynamics within school communities influence stress, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and overall leader well-being. It will also examine the impact of leader well-being on their practices, retention, and overall success, highlighting its significant implications for school environments and student outcomes. Furthermore, this Special Issue will address how these challenges disproportionately affect leaders in marginalized communities, including leaders of color and women, and explore strategies for enhancing well-being, fostering resilience, and improving job satisfaction.

Through this comprehensive exploration, the goal of this Special Issue is to provide actionable insights that can inform both research and practice, fostering more equitable and supportive environments for K-12 school leaders, improving job satisfaction, retention, and ultimately school performance and effectiveness.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Understanding the stressors in school leadership, especially the intersection of personal and professional stressors in diverse school contexts.
• The role of organizational support in enabling leader well-being and promoting sustainable career longevity.
• The role of pre-service preparation and in-service professional learning in equipping school leaders with the skills to manage stress and sustain long-term well-being.
• The impact of school leadership well-being on various educational outcomes, including decision-making, leadership practices, retention, and overall school performance.
• Leadership professional identity and well-being, exploring the unique stressors and systemic inequalities faced by women leaders, leaders of color, and leaders from marginalized communities, and their impact on well-being
• How state/district policies and resource distribution affect school leader well-being.
• Evidence-based strategies and interventions for promoting school leader well-being.
• Longitudinal studies tracking the impact of school leader well-being initiatives on school success.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Yongmei Ni
Prof. Dr. Andrea Rorrer
Prof. Dr. Michelle Young
Dr. Laura Rogers
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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