It's time to rebuild the `bionic' principal

If the late teacher and author Brian McMahon had taught for the past decade and decided to publish his memoirs, it is doubtful if he would have chosen "The Master" for the title. Less evocative titles like "The Facilitator", "The Chief Executive" or "The General Manager" would be more appropriate now, at a time when the principal teacher's role has evolved and altered radically following an era of huge educational change.

A generation ago, the elevation from teacher to principal was almost a process of natural selection. The role carried with it considerable status in the community. The principal "ran" the school as per the wishes of the local clergy. However, from the mid-1980s onwards, the role changed dramatically. The Government's Green Paper was initially ridiculed for its model of principal as "chief executive", yet that is today's reality. Now the primary principal is, paradoxically, both an advisor to and accountable to a board of management comprising representatives of the patron, teachers, parents and the community.

She or he is responsible for the school's infrastructure, construction projects, equipment, finance and resources. Recruitment, interviewing, mentoring new staff and the professional development of teachers also come within the principal's remit. Curriculum revision, school development planning and whole-school evaluation are all new responsibilities requiring a principal's leadership skills. Where once the principal teacher reigned over a monarchy, she or he now leads an in-school management team of deputy principal, assistant principals and teachers with special duties, as well as a teaching team and ancillary staff. As if the role needed further challenges, the Education Act now requires that school policies and all key decisions follow consultation with parents, teachers and, when appropriate, children. While the democratisation of decision-making is inherently good for schools, it demands a leader with very sophisticated facilitation, communication and interpersonal skills.

It is against this backdrop that the need for a professional body for principal teachers emerged. The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) was founded in February 2000 to cater for the rapidly changing professional needs of more than 3,300 principal teachers and provide them with a dedicated representative voice.

In Brian McMahon's time, principals would not have seen any comparison between their role and those of managers in the private sector. Today, the role of principal is being compared with those of hospital administrator and bank manager. Yet 75 per cent of all primary principals are still full-time classroom teachers, often without secretarial or caretaker support.

In spite of all the recent changes, it is a staggering 28 years since the renowned DES circular 16/73 last defined the role of the principal teacher. This role definition is now in urgent need of review. While the content of 16/73 was laudatory, a principal would need to be both "bionic" and have powers of bilocation to fulfil the role as laid out in that seminal document. The role has grown exponentially over the past three decades. Nowadays, not a month goes by without an announcement of new initiatives, schemes and resource grants. These initiatives, while individually excellent, are collectively causing our primary education system to develop structural cracks along fault lines, which have been visible for some time.

The Education Act is but one of a multiplicity of pieces of legislation now governing how schools are managed. Boards of management, principals and school staffs are being bombarded with glossy publications and reports from every conceivable government-sponsored commission.

WHOLE school evaluation, school development planning, the revised primary curriculum, IT 2000, social, personal and health education (SPHE) and the recent bureaucratic "Even Break for the Disadvantaged" have all landed on the desk of the principal.

The massive increase in workload and growing legal responsibilities have resulted in a significant decline in the number of teachers applying for the post of principal. IPPN believes this to be a direct result of a perception that even highly competent and skilled principals are finding it almost impossible to fulfil the basic requirements of the role. IPPN is currently commissioning independent research to assess teachers' perceptions of the principal's role. This will help establish the key issues preventing many teachers from seeking promotion to principalship. Traditionally, elevation to the position of principal was seen as a significant achievement. Now there is an emerging and alarming trend where vacancies for principalships have to be re-advertised due to insufficient applications. The consequences for our primary schools are most serious should this trend continue.

While focusing on a possible crisis facing principalship in primary schools, IPPN is determined to seize the controls and put the role of the primary principal back on an even keel. The roller-coaster ride of the last decade cannot continue. There is too much at stake for our nation's parents, who depend on quality leadership in our schools for their children's primary education.

If we are to redeem this alarming situation, the principal's role must be urgently re-defined in realistic terms, based on current realities. The principal's role must be perceived as being both desirable and "do-able" if we hope to attract our best teachers into this key leadership role.

This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, principals are gathering in Galway for IPPN's first national conference.

Professor John Coolohan of NUI Maynooth will speak on the leadership role which IPPN can offer in the Irish education system and Dr Maureen Gaffney will address personal health and safety issues for principal teachers. Conference proceedings can be viewed by live webcast on IPPN's website: www.ippn.ie

Sean Cotrell is the national director of the Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN).