– We did not receive qualified applicants the first two times. On the third attempt, we got qualified applicants, says Åge Stafsnes, municipal head of schools in Sunnfjord municipality. It took time to appoint a new principal in the village of Bygstad, a suburb 20 minutes away from Førde. The head of the school feels that there are generally very few applicants for leadership positions at the schools. – It has been a challenge to get applicants in place, he admits. A similar problem is observed across large parts of the country. People do not stand in line to become principals. Heavy work pressure is pointed to as one of the reasons. Resigned after six years Heidi Amundsen was headmaster at Ådalsbruk school in Løten in Inlandet. After six years, she had enough. The workload was too great. Amundsen says that when she was left alone with responsibility for everything from planning work, cooperation with the municipality, personnel management, school development, budgeting, financial follow-up and follow-up of student affairs, it was not enough to get along with both colleagues and students. – In addition, there is enormous cross-pressure between requirements, legislation and finances. What the research says is best cannot be implemented financially, says the former headmaster. Union leader of the School Leaders’ Association, Stig Johannessen, wants to support the team around the headmaster. Photo: Skolelederforbundet Concern for the development The former headmaster is not alone. According to a Fafo report, commissioned by the Association of School Leaders, only 5 per cent of principals in the school manage to remain in the same principal position for over ten years. Union leader of the School Leaders’ Association, Stig Johannessen, says that they have seen a trend in fewer applicants for principal positions. In addition, almost half of the middle managers in the school say that they do not want to take the step up to become headmaster. When it is also challenging to retain school principals who are already working as principals, Johannessen becomes concerned. – We can see the contours of a predicted crisis, he says. And according to the union leader, there is a simple reason for the crisis. – We hear from our members that the demands and expectations of the headmaster’s job have increased. As principal, you have too many tasks and too little support around you. news has previously written about a survey which shows that head teachers have little time to be educational leaders because they have to spend a lot of time on administration and reporting. – Having ten pieces to choose from is quite appreciable compared to what one experiences in district municipalities, says Odd Bjarne Berdal about appointing a new headmaster at Bergen Cathedral School just before the summer. Want to remove time stealers Education Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) says the authorities are aware of the problem and that they share the School Leaders’ Association’s concern. – I think that for too many years too many school principals have been in a form of cross-pressure. It can be about detailed management, target management, control of the employees’ work and other things, which take the focus away from working with quality in the school. The government is now looking at what measures can be taken to improve the working hours of the principal. Among other things, they look at what time stealers exist in the work and what can be done about this. – We have set up a committee to look at what we call the quality assessment system in the school, says the Minister of Education. Furthermore, the minister points out that certain measures can be taken in the municipalities and county municipalities. She emphasizes that a good collaboration with the individual school can make much of the work easier. Education Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) points out that we are completely dependent on good principals in the school. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB Worst in smaller municipalities Although the principal problem is a national challenge, there are still differences in Norway. Odd Bjarne Berdal is an area manager in Vestland County Municipality with responsibility for secondary schools in Bergen. He is not worried about a shortage of principals in Bergen, but sees that the appointment process is more difficult in smaller municipalities. – In terms of experience, I have an easier recruitment job than my colleagues in district schools, he says. When he last appointed a principal at Bergen Cathedral School, he had ten qualified applicants for the position. By comparison, Bygstad School in Sunnfjord advertised the position of principal three times before they appointed a new principal this spring. Stig Johannessen of the School Leaders’ Association believes that the reason for the regional differences is twofold. He points out that there are more qualified applicants who already live in larger municipalities, but he also sees that smaller schools mean less support around the headmaster. – There are small schools where the headmaster has both teaching and janitor duties, in addition to having to solve all the tasks that one has to solve at a larger school. He says the solution is to strengthen the support apparatus around the administrative tasks in smaller schools. The alternative is increasingly frequent replacements and qualified candidates applying for other management jobs. This is the recipe for a development that Minister of Education Tonje Brenna wants to avoid. – We are completely dependent on good principals all over the country, she says.
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“Principal crisis” in large parts of the country – news Vestland
