Flourishing School Leadership - Perspectives of Canada’s Outstanding Principals

Oct 15, 2026

With research pointing to rising stress and work demands for school leaders, attention has shifted toward the factors that shape administrators’ well-being. Evidence also shows that many leaders do more than cope; they thrive and even experience flourishing—optimal functioning, positive feelings, and a balanced life. This article examines national award-winning principals in Canada’s Outstanding Principals program, analyzing perceptions related to flow, thriving, resilience, and grit to identify conditions, behaviors, mindsets, and traits critical to well-being.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Work demands and stress in school leadership

Canadian context and principal well-being

Job satisfaction and resilience among principals

Purpose and research questions

Flourishing constructs and study method

Flourishing School Leadership: Perspectives of Canada’s Outstanding Principals Benjamin Kutsyuruba1, Nadia Arghash1, Terry Kharyati2, & John Bosica1 1Queen’s University, 2CÉGEP Heritage College Abstract With research pointing to increased levels of stress and work demands on school leaders, attention has turned to examining the factors that contribute to their well-being. Studies have also shown that many school administrators not just survive but also thrive in their work and succeed despite work-related challenges. Furthermore, some principals experience flourishing at work, which is characterized by optimal functioning, feeling good, and achieving a balanced life. Our study examined the sense of flourishing of the national award-winning principals in the Canada’s Outstanding Principals program, which recognized outstanding contributions of principals in publicly funded schools. In this article, we describe the participants’ perceptions in relation to the following constructs in the overall flourishing: flow, thriving, resilience, and grit. This study highlights the conditions, behaviours, mindsets, and characteristics that are critical for the well-being of school administrators. Keywords: flourishing, flow, thriving, resilience, grit, well-being, Canada’s Outstanding Principals Introduction Attention to well-being in school leadership has increased in the last decade due to emerging research that shows increasing job demands for principals and vice-principals. School administrators around the world face work intensification, growing workloads, excruciating work hours, and increased focus on accountability and high-stake testing (Beausaert et al., 2016; Collie et al., 2020; De Jong et al., 2017; Lingard et al., 2013; Maxwell & Riley, 2017). As a result, school leaders experience high levels of work-related stress, burnout, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion (Mahfouz, 2020; Riley et al., 2021; Skaalvik, 2020; Wells & Klocko, 2015). The situation in the Canadian schooling landscape is very similar, with research pointing to an increase in stress and an overall decrease in school leaders’ well-being (Ontario Principals’ Council, 2017; Pollock & Wang, 2020; Pollock et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2018, 2023). The major stressors associated with school principalship have been identified as long working hours, imposed government or union initiatives, lack of support, lack of work-life balance, and navigating funding and staffing issues. The challenging nature of principals’ work and its potential negative effects on their well-being warrant “a pressing need to expand the existing knowledge about the occupational factors that play a role in their experiences of workplace well-being”(Collie et al., 2020, p. 417). Interestingly, studies have also demonstrated high rates of overall job satisfaction and work enjoyment among school principals compared to the general population (Chung, 2019; Doyle Fosco, 2022; Goldring & Taie, 2018; Wang et al., 2018; Wylie, 2017). Many principals have indicated time and again that they are mostly fulfilled with their chosen profession and, if taken back in time, would still choose to be school principals. Research shows that principals are naturally highly motivated and resilient individuals who display advanced problem-solving skills, optimism, and work ethic (Worthing & Paterson, 2013). These characteristics allow them to succeed despite challenges and to experience flourishing at work, which is characterized by optimal functioning, feeling good, and achieving a balanced life (Cherkowski et al., 2020). Moreover, there are principals who are recognized by various national and international awards as successful and outstanding. The fact that many school principals across the world are satisfied with what they do despite the tremendous challenges they face daily may lend itself to the importance of what they do and the impact they can have on future generations. The question then begs itself

FAQs

What does the study mean by “flourishing” for school principals?

Flourishing is described as optimal functioning, feeling good, and achieving a balanced life despite work-related challenges.

Which constructs are used to examine principals’ sense of flourishing?

The study focuses on flow, thriving, resilience, and grit as the key constructs tied to overall flourishing.

How was the research on Canada’s Outstanding Principals conducted?

An electronic survey was used to gather award-winning principals’ perceptions through both quantitative (closed) and qualitative (open-ended) responses.

Oct 15, 2026

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