Conference Agenda

Across the world, concerns have intensified regarding school principals’ workload, wellbeing, and capacity to sustain their leadership roles (Dick et al., 2025; Poirel et al., 2024; Skaalvik, 2023). School principals are expected to navigate substantial administrative, managerial, pedagogical, and community engagement responsibilities, often in conditions of resource scarcity and heightened accountability (Dick et al., 2025). Therefore, it is without surprise that global research initiatives have documented the growing demands placed on school principals, with particular attention to their diminished wellbeing (e.g., emotional exhaustion) and intentions to leave the profession (Dick et al., 2025; Rivest & Clément, 2026; Skaalvik, 2023).

The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti et al., 2001) provides a useful theoretical framework for understanding these conditions, emphasizing how high job demands (such as workload) contribute to emotional exhaustion, while job resources (such as supervisor support) may buffer these effects (Beausaert et al., 2016).

The present study explores how principals’ perceptions of their workload and of their supervisor support are associated with emotional exhaustion, and examines whether supervisor support moderates the relationship between workload and emotional exhaustion.

Workload. Workload refers to the perceived quantitative and qualitative demands placed on an individual in their job, including the amount, complexity, and pace of tasks that must be completed within a given time frame. High workload occurs when job demands exceed the individual’s available resources, time, or capacity, and is a central component of job demands in the JD-R model (Demerouti et al., 2001).

Emotional Exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion is a core component of burnout, referring to a state of feeling emotionally overextended and depleted of emotional and psychological resources. It manifests when prolonged job demands deplete an individual’s ability to cope (Maslach et al., 2001).

Supervisor Support. Supervisor support refers to the degree to which employees perceive their immediate superior as providing emotional, informational, and instrumental resources, including among others, recognition, guidance, feedback, and assistance with managing work demands. As a job resource within the JD-R model, supervisor support can buffer the negative effects of high job demands (Potipiroon & Faerman, 2020). In most public school systems worldwide, school principals are generally supervised by a higher-level education authority such as a district superintendent, school board director, or equivalent government-appointed administrator. These supervisory roles, which are usually under the broader oversight of a ministry or department of education, are often called “middle tier” of the education system (Thessin & Seashore Louis, 2019).

Research Question. Can supervisor support serve as a protective resource and moderate the relationship between workload (a job demand) and emotional exhaustion (a key burnout outcome) among school principals?

Three Research Objectives Guided the Study:

Objective 1. To examine the association between school principals’ perceived workload and their emotional exhaustion.

Objective 2. To examine the association between school principal’s perceived supervisor support and emotional exhaustion.

Objective 3. To determine whether school principal’s supervisor support moderates the relationship between workload and emotional exhaustion.

This study provides insight into school principals’ job organization. It reinforces the JD-R model’s premise that resources may attenuate the negative effects of job demands on wellbeing, and it underscores the important role of supervisors in fostering conditions that can support school principals’ sustainability in their role.

Background

In many countries, school leaders (principals and vice principals) are increasingly expected to implement evidence-based reforms while navigating complex local conditions. Effective implementation depends on the school leader's capacity to mobilise external evidence (e.g., research findings or expert advice) and to integrate it with school-internal data and professional judgement (Dormann et al., 2016). As such evidence-based school development can be seen as an iterative process in which data are collected and interpreted in relation to a context-specific goal (Schildkamp, 2019).

However, many schools struggle to realise this vision in practice: empirical studies from different countries show that school leaders often report limited training, knowledge and confidence in using research, implementation concepts and data for school development (for example, Acton, 2021; Farley-Ripple, 2024; Hegestedt et al., 2023). Opportunities for professional development may foster these competencies. For example, a two‑year data‑use training for Dutch school teams increased the h knowledge and skills for data‑driven decision making in school principals and teachers (Staman et al., 2014) and a Danish study found that combining school data with research-based competence development in professional learning communities can support positive school change and improve teachers’ professional self-evaluation (Qvortrup, 2019). Furthermore professional development programmes can enhance the self-efficacy of school leaders (Petridou et al., 2017), which has been shown to be an important factor in implementing reforms (Röhl et al., 2024). While studies linking school leaders’ professional development and different leadership behaviours exist, the effectiveness of different formats on leadership practices in general and school leaders’ evidence orientation in particular remains underexplored (Daniëls et al., 2019).

Research Obejctive

Building on Dormann et al. (2016), this study conceptualizes evidence-based school management as consisting of three dimensions: high external evidence orientation (e.g. consulting experts), high internal evidence orientation (e.g. critically examining a reform’s fit to the school's specific context) and low orientation toward evidence substitutes (e.g. relying on gut feelings when implementing reforms). University-based programmes and peer mentoring are examined as potential levers for strengthening school leaders’ capacities for evidence-based school management. The aim is to compare these two formats of formal professional development as potentially complementary, with distinct effects on the dimensions of evidence orientation: university-based training is expected to be more strongly related to external evidence orientation, whereas peer mentoring is expected to be more closely linked to internal evidence orientation through reflective exchange on context-specific reform implementation.

The following research questions guide this study:

1. To what extent are university-based training and standardized peer mentoring associated to principals’ external and internal evidence orientation as well as their orientation toward evidence substitutes?
2. To what extent can university-based training and standardized peer mentoring improve principal's self-efficacy beliefs in implementing reforms?
3. How are external evidence orientation, internal evidence orientation, and orientation toward evidence substitutes related to principals’ self-efficacy in implementing innovations?

Technological advancement is reshaping education, requiring school systems to adapt and innovate. To adapt to these developments, change occurs at different levels. Local system changes are situated between statewide reforms and individual school improvement (Hermstein, 2021), where local authorities are often responsible (European Commission, 2014). In the German school system, this corresponds to the role of municipal school providers (Schulträger). Because in Germany, authority over aspects of curriculum and instruction lies with the state government, the role of municipal school providers is restricted to changes in so-called “external matters”, such as the provision of schools, buildings, and infrastructure (Hermstein, 2021). In the context of digitalization, innovation by MSPs is therefore limited to providing infrastructure and facilitating alignment among local stakeholders (Hermstein, 2024). MSPs are still a crucial part of the school support system because they provide pivotal resources enabling schools to respond to statewide reforms (Hermstein, 2021).

Because MSPs play such a pivotal role in schools’ capacity for change, they themselves must be able to operate effectively and in a goal-oriented manner. This requires organizational learning and change capacities, including the ability to reflect on and adapt their own processes. Organizational learning is defined as an organization’s ability to continuously adapt by modifying its knowledge in response to changing environmental conditions (Kozica et al., 2019). Learning occurs through changes in routines and processes (single-loop learning), in underlying theories of action and overarching goals (double-loop learning), or in how learning is conducted (deutero learning) (Argyris & Schön, 1978). Individuals within an organization develop new ideas, connect them to existing knowledge, share them within the group, and transfer the resulting collective knowledge into the organizational memory, which is reflected in altered processes, structures, or the organization’s culture (Kozica et al., 2019).

Consequently, organizational learning is a complex and highly demanding process. Findings from school improvement research, therefore, indicate that educational organizations require specific capacities to be able to learn. Feldhoff’s (2011) Integrative Model of Organizational Learning Capacity (adapted from Marks and Louis, 1999) describes seven dimensions that are pivotal for organizational learning: (1) organizational structure, (2) shared goals, values, and collaboration, (3) knowledge and skills, (4) leadership and management, (5) quality assurance and goal assessment, (6) exchange with the school environment, and (7) participation. Although the model is based on research within school organizations, it can also be partially applied to MSPs, understood as pedagogical institutions (Merkens, 2006).

Research from France indicates that MSP strategies to collaborate with relevant educational stakeholders and align with local development strategies can foster individual school improvement and sustainable municipal growth (Lugaz & Chimier, 2021). Findings from Germany, however, indicate that the MSP’s practice is largely shaped by bureaucratic logics and negotiating with other local stakeholders (Hermstein, 2022; Sendzik et al., 2025) rather than strategic organizational learning.

This paper, therefore, addresses the central question: To what extent do municipal school providers follow organizational learning strategies, and what capacities for organizational learning do they have?

To answer this question, we use data from a larger project that supports MSP and private school providers (PSP) in developing and implementing a digital media strategy focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) in schools in structurally weak urban regions. The project aims to facilitate the development of adaptive change management competencies among school providers and a sustainable culture of digitality within the education system. This paper draws on an analysis of contextual conditions shaping change processes involving interactions among school providers, school supervisory authorities, and schools, as well as support for strategy development, consulting, and professional development related to OER implementation.

School principals are under important pressures, and their job demands appear to be increasing year after year (Dick et al., 2025). They are required to simultaneously manage pedagogical leadership, administrative responsibilities, human resources, and community relations, often in contexts characterized by limited resources (Creagh et al., 2025). These accumulating demands have been associated with elevated stress, emotional exhaustion, and increased risks of turnover among school leaders (Rivest et Clément, 2026; Skaalvik, 2023).

This study is based on two theoretical models: 1) the work design characteristics model proposed by Humphrey et al. (2007); and 2) the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti et al., 2001). Both models provide a framework for understanding school principals’ work characteristics. According to the JD-R model, job demands (i.e., aspects of work requiring sustained physical, cognitive, or emotional effort) are associated with physiological and psychological costs (such as burnout), whereas job resources are negatively associated with disengagement (Demerouti et al., 2001). While the JD-R model has traditionally been tested using variable-centered approaches, more recent research highlights the value of person-centered approaches for capturing heterogeneity across individuals (Meyer & Morin, 2016).

Accordingly, this study adopts a person-centered analytical perspective. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), we explore how multiple dimensions of school principals’ job demands co-occur and cluster together to form distinct profiles of work characteristics. Rather than assuming that school principals experience job demands in a uniform or homogeneous way, this approach captures the heterogeneity of their lived work conditions. By identifying unique configurations of job‑demand patterns, LPA provides a nuanced understanding that can inform targeted interventions and more refined policy responses, tailored to the specific challenges faced by different groups of school leaders.

Five dimensions of job demands were examined: 1) rhythm and quantity of work, 2) task changes, 3) mental load, 4) emotional load, and 5) role ambiguity. These dimensions reflect quantitative, cognitive, emotional, and organizational aspects of school principals’ work (Lequeurre et al., 2013).

The overarching objective of this study was to identify latent profiles of job demands among school principals and to describe their prevalence and defining characteristics. Specifically, the study sought to answer the following research question: To what extent can distinct profiles of work characteristics be identified among school principals based on five dimensions of job demands?

By adopting a person-centered analytical perspective, this study aims to deepen our understanding of the heterogeneity that characterizes principals’ perception of work conditions. It extends research grounded in the JD-R framework by illustrating how multiple job demands co-occur and cluster within individuals, rather than exerting isolated or independent effects. The findings offer practical and policy-relevant insights, emphasizing the need for differentiated organizational supports tailored to distinct demand profiles. This approach challenges the adequacy of “one-size-fits-all” interventions, and underscores the importance of designing strategies responsive to the diverse realities of school principals’ work.

Educational leaders are increasingly expected to foster collective learning and organisational development in schools operating under conditions of growing complexity, uncertainty, and accountability pressure. International research on educational leadership documents a shift towards leadership practices that emphasise organisational learning, professional collaboration, and collective sensemaking as central to school improvement (Day & Sammons, 2020; Harris, 2014; Leithwood et al., 2020). At the same time, research has shown that school leaders often experience difficulties in translating theoretical leadership frameworks into concrete practices that meaningfully inform everyday decision-making and school development (Robinson, 2011; Timperley, 2011).

Against this background, the present study addresses the following research question: How can serious gaming support collective sensemaking among educational leadership teams in relation to organisational learning? The theoretical framework combines research on educational leadership as practice and leadership for learning (Harris, 2014; Spillane, 2006; Robinson, 2011) with the concept of schools as learning organisations (Silins et al., 2002; Kools, 2020). Leadership is conceptualised not as an individual attribute but as a collective and situated practice through which organisational learning is enacted. By focusing on sensemaking processes within leadership teams, the study engages with an issue that is widely recognised across European education systems: how school leaders can work with abstract policy- and research-informed frameworks in ways that support shared understanding and coordinated action within diverse institutional and governance contexts.

This study presents an ongoing educational design research project that explores how serious gaming can support educational leadership for organisational learning. The project focuses on the design and development of a serious game intended for school leaders and leadership teams, aimed at supporting reflection, dialogue, and developmental planning across seven key dimensions of schools as learning organisations, including shared vision, team learning, a culture of research and inquiry, knowledge sharing, and learning leadership (Kools, 2020; Silins et al., 2002).

Serious gaming is employed as a pedagogical and methodological approach to support collective leadership learning processes by externalising organisational practices and assumptions, thereby creating structured opportunities for dialogue, reflection, and sensemaking, as documented in research on serious games and game-based learning (Connolly et al., 2012; Susi et al., 2007). The poster reports on the design rationale, development process, and preliminary outcomes of the serious game. The game was developed through iterative co-design cycles within a research–practice partnership involving school leaders from primary, secondary, and higher education contexts in the Netherlands. The design process follows principles of Educational Design Research (McKenney & Reeves, 2019), combining theory-informed design with systematic inquiry into how specific design features mediate leadership practices and learning processes. Conjecture mapping (Boelens et al., 2020) was used to articulate hypothesised relationships between design features, mediating leadership activities, and intended learning outcomes.

Preliminary findings suggest that the serious game appears to function as a boundary object that mediates dialogue and negotiation of meaning among leadership team members, enabling collective sensemaking around organisational learning practices (Akkerman & Bakker, 2011; Star & Griesemer, 1989). Participants reported increased conceptual clarity regarding the learning organisation framework, deeper team dialogue, and an enhanced sense of agency in shaping school-wide learning processes. Rather than prescribing specific leadership actions, the game supports leaders in navigating the relationship between knowing and acting by creating structured opportunities for reflective and collaborative leadership practice.

The study contributes to educational leadership research by illustrating how design-based approaches and serious gaming can support leadership for organisational learning in context-sensitive ways. By explicitly addressing sensemaking processes within leadership teams, the project contributes to international discussions on educational leadership that seek to bridge theoretical knowledge and leadership practice in complex educational environments.