New Zealand’s primary school principals showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the latest Health and Well-being Survey
The survey, conducted by the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) and Australian Catholic University (ACU), found that one-in-three of the country’s school leaders are showing symptoms of PTSD.
According to the data gleaned so far, up to 37% of participants answered questions that had led to a ‘red flag’, which means they are undergoing a significant degree of distress.
“It’s too early to tell exactly what this means, but there seems to be a significant increase on last year’s results,” ACU researcher and associate professor, Dr Phil Riley, said told The Educator.
“If this holds until the end of data collection it would represents a crisis.”
However, Riley added that the numbers could change between now and October when the NZEI and ACU finish their collection and analysis of the data.
On Monday, NZ Principals’ Federation (NZPF) president, Whetu Cormick, told NewsHub there are an increasing number of challenges facing schools in New Zealand, including the shortage of relief teachers.
“We have an on-going concern about what we're going to do next in terms of better supporting our schooling across the education system,” Cormick said.
However, he said that despite this, people will continue to take on the role of principal because people don’t enter the teaching profession “purely for money”.