ISSUES AT STAKE: Principals often the biggest bullies in school

Psychologist BERNARD SCRIBANTE discusses the ongoing issue of school principal bullying and its effect on schools

Our education system is increasingly under the spotlight – and often for the wrong reasons.

With the focus mostly on poor academic results, teacher training and inadequate resources, it is understandable that the devastating effect bullying by principals has on the physical and emotional lives of teachers, is not given the attention that is so desperately needed.

Research studies and articles about bullying in the workplace are available on the Internet.

There is, however, a scarcity of research on bullying of teachers by principals.

Up to 37% of employees reported that they had been bullied in some way or another during their careers and there is conclusive evidence that teaching is a high risk occupation. Education in SA cannot afford that competent, excellent and dedicated teachers are being destroyed by serial bullies.

There are many indications that bullying of teachers by principals has serious and potentially devastating effects on teachers as well as pupils.

This relates to both their professional as well as private lives.

Of even more concern is the general debilitating effect it has on teaching and learning in a school, inevitably culminating in the poisoning of the entire system.

Workplace bullying is generally defined as a pattern of repeated aggressive, offensive, unreasonable, intimidating or humiliating behaviour by a manager against a staff member with the specific intent to undermine, humiliate, control and to make life so unpleasant for the staff member that they eventually leave.

Principal bullying can be overt or covert.

Emotional immaturity

In schools it is often driven by the principal’s lack of self-esteem and inadequate emotional maturity which lead to his/her subsequent need for power, control and domination.

The modus operandi of serial bullies basically follows a well-known pattern.

When the target takes a stand and refuses to be humiliated in front of colleagues and pupils, the bullying pattern changes to more serious actions such verbal and written warnings.

Lies are fabricated to accuse the victim of stealing, insubordination or turning the staff against the principal.

The perceived threat to the bully principal is his fear of being exposed as incompetent, which will lead to a weakening of his position or standing in the school.

No regard is given to the possible adverse results this may have on the pupils or the school as a whole. For the bully principal it is all about himself.

Because bullies act on their perceived fear of threat and in line with their immature emotional development, they continuously make decisions which are in their own interest and with no regard what is in the interest of the children or staff.

This is one of the main reasons why these schools eventually go into a downward spiral.