Experiences of stress relating to responsibilities and autonomy for Norwegian school principals and middle leaders

Purpose This paper aims to better our understanding of how different kinds of leadership responsibilities are linked to stressors at work for different types of school leaders in Norwegian compulsory and upper secondary schools. The study’s differentiation between principals and middle leaders contributes to research on the responsibilities of school leaders. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on a 2023 survey of 641 school leaders in Norway (a 21% response rate). The survey is based on established instruments, using a battery of questions from TALIS 2018 on sources of stress for school leaders. The responses are analysed using exploratory factor analysis in order to find underlying patterns. The analysis divides principals and middle leaders to find commonalities and differences. Findings The patterns emerging from the two-factor analyses are not consistent, but two of the dimensions are the same for both groups. One dimension concerns reporting to the level above and is significantly stronger in principals than in middle leaders. The second dimension, linked to interpersonal issues, has several similarities across the groups. Originality/value This study contributes to research on how responsibilities are shared among principals and middle leaders. The findings point to substantial overlap and an unclear division of responsibility between the two groups. This lack of clarity is also visible in the patterns of stress. The findings suggest a need for investigating the role of middle leaders from a perspective of both school autonomy and leadership autonomy.