A Case Study Approach Towards a Salutogenic Job Demands-Resources Understanding and Response to Poor Principal Class Occupational Health Safety and Well-being in the Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns

The occupational health, safety, and well-being of education leaders, particularly principals, has been in decline in Australia since 2011, as consistently reported by Dr. Philip Riley and his associates. This decline is attributed to the increasing demands and complexity of their roles. Despite various efforts, there is limited evidence of successful interventions within the Australian education sectors. This thesis employs a qualitative, multiple case, case study approach to generate new insights and respond to this crisis within the Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns (CEDC), utilising the Salutogenic model of health and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory.

The research aims to provide an informed salutogenic response to optimise the cultural conditions within the CEDC that guide better management practices for the broader principal class within the CEDC, thereby enhancing their ability to cope with their roles. The study focuses on high-performing experienced principals within the CEDC, employing within-case thematic analysis and between-case and cross-case analysis to identify their culturally adaptive strategies. Understanding the cultural origins and impact of these strategies is facilitated by the Salutogenic model of health and recent updates to JD-R theory, which together provide a new, and refined understanding of the culturally adaptive resources and strategies employed by principals to sustainably manage the complexity and demands of their role.

The Salutogenic model of health emphasises culturally adaptive General Resistance Resources (GRRs), a motivation towards pro-active problem-solving behaviours and Sense of Coherence (SOC), which includes comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. The JD-R theory examines the balance between job demands and resources, identifying burnout resulting from prolonged exposure to job demands that exceed available adaptive resources. Recent updates to JD-R theory include self-regulatory behaviours, both adaptive (recovery, job crafting) and maladaptive (coping inflexibility, self-undermining).

Key findings from the study highlight the importance of adaptive cultural and personal resources in coping with job demands. High-performing principals utilise adaptive strategies such as job crafting, emotional intelligence, a proactive personality and recovery to manage stress and strain to maintain well-being. To achieve this, the research identifies four major cross-case themes: Cultural Formation, Active Pursuit of Connected and Trusting Relationships, Wise Mindset, and Clearly Defined Boundaries.

Cultural Formation captures the influence of social-cultural and environmental factors in the principals' formative years, including upbringing and professional influences. The study finds that a strong working-class background, stable family environments, and influential role models in education is influential in informing the principals' leadership styles and resilience, especially within the early years of their leadership.

Active Pursuit of Connected and Trusting Relationships highlights how principals enthusiastically engage with their communities, leadership teams, staff, peers, and supportive partners to build trust and foster a supportive environment. Strategies include being visible, engaging in meaningful communication, mentoring staff and establishing strong leadership teams.

Wise Mindset encompasses the cognitive and motivational resources that principals develop over time, including principled decision-making, finding meaningfulness in their work, proactive personality, resilience, self-reflection, humility, and healthy rebellion. These attributes enable principals to navigate the complexities of their roles efficiently and effectively.

Clearly Defined Boundaries are established by principals through routines, processing time, prioritising self-care, and disconnecting from work to maintain a healthy work-life balance. These strategies can take several years to emerge within the principals practice but are critical in allowing them to sustainably manage the demands of the role and engage in healthy restorative behaviours.

The study forwards a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms by which high-performing experienced principals optimise their use of personal and cultural resources through the development of the Wise Principal Model (WPM), which elucidates how principals leverage their adaptive resources to create resource gain spirals, thereby enhancing their capacity to manage job demands and reduce job strain. The WPM highlights the interplay between personal cultural resources, work cultural resources, and personal physical/psychological resources, offering a holistic framework for understanding principal well-being.

The study concludes with recommendations for systemic support through targeted professional development, modifications to workplace practices, and access to critical resources. These recommendations aim to create the optimal cultural conditions within which the CEDC principal class better manage their roles whilst also maintaining their health and well-being.