Mental health wellness in educational leadership

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to research the impact of mental health wellness on educational leaders. Leaders with 3 or more years of experience in positions of leadership in Southern California, at the school site and district levels, were invited to participate. Interested participants, who met the criteria, were added to a list of potential participants from which 20 were selected at random and notified. The participants were interviewed once and asked the same 10 questions. The interview was designed to elicit examples of how mental health wellness plays a role in an educational leader's life, both professionally and personally. Leaders in this study shared their reasons for becoming an educator, the path that led them to their leadership position, how mental health plays a role in their ability to perform the duties of their job, roles and responsibilities, as well as how COVID-19 has impacted their overall mental health. Through this research, it demonstrated evidence that mental health wellness is negatively impacted by the positions that educational leaders hold and it has been exacerbated by the demands that COVID-19 have placed on our country, especially our educational system. Implications for this study suggest that changes need to be made to the systems and structures within school districts to better support leaders with mental health wellness so that they can be more effective leaders for the communities that they serve. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)