A report released today, based on data from 1244 Ontario schools, finds that principals are experiencing competing demands on their time - leaving them with less time to fulfill their role as curriculum leaders.
In their responses to People for Education's Annual Ontario School Survey, 22% of elementary school principals and 10% of secondary principals reported that managing facilities is the most time-consuming part of their job. In comparison, only 9% of elementary and 13% of secondary principals ranked supporting professional learning and improving the instructional program as the task they spend the most time on.
One principal commented, "There are way too many managerial and day-to-day running-of-the-school tasks, so that professional learning and instructional programming is left to the last "
Principals a key influence on student learning
According to the report, principals are second only to teachers in terms of school-related factors that have an impact on student learning. Principals lead school improvement initiatives, attend to individual student needs, and support the implementation of Ministry and school board initiatives. Recent research from Western University found that principals in Ontario work an average of 59 hours per week and vice-principals work an average of 55 hours.
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