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Monday, June 26, 2006

Education Matters: Profile of Canada's school principals

2004/2005

A new survey of Canada's elementary and secondary school principals provides insight into the extent to which everyday problems affect the functioning of their schools.

Results of the Survey of Principals, conducted during the 2004/2005 academic year, are released today in Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada, Statistics Canada's online source of facts and analysis on education.

Principals were generally satisfied with many aspects of their jobs. Almost 90% of them stated they were either somewhat or very satisfied with their professional development. Relatively high percentages were also either somewhat or very satisfied with the support they received from their supervisors (84%), their accountability (82%) and their professional autonomy (81%).

However, workload issues are apparent. Overall, only 37% of principals were either somewhat or very satisfied with the impact of their job on their family life and 47% were somewhat or very satisfied with their workload.

According to the data, slightly more than one-third of principals reported that student disrespect for teachers and student absenteeism caused problems in their schools.

In addition, nearly one-third of principals cited problems with students disrupting classes and with student tardiness and apathy. About 44% cited problems with bullying.

However, only 1 out of every 10 principals reported that racial-based conflicts among students had an impact on their school, or that sexism or sexual harassment among students had an impact.

On a regional basis, proportionately more principals in Quebec and the three territories reported problems with students dropping out, student apathy and teacher turnover.

Higher-than-average proportions of principals in Quebec and Ontario also reported problems with bullying. In the territories, principals noted problems with student consumption of alcohol or drugs, student absenteeism, disruption of classes by students and student tardiness.

In contrast, lower-than-average proportions of principals in British Columbia and the Prairies reported problems with conflicts among students, bullying, and student disrespect for teachers.

In total, Canada had about 8,000 male principals and 7,000 female principals at elementary and secondary schools in 2004/2005.

Women accounted for 47% of all principals. At the elementary level, they represented 53%, but only 42% at the secondary level. The territories had the highest proportion of male principals (81%).

Typically, principals begin their careers as teachers, advancing once they have gained classroom experience and taken further training. As a result, they tend to be older than the average for the labour force as a whole.

About 57% were aged 50 or over in 2004/2005, compared to 32% of managers in the labour force as a whole. Similarly, 12% of principals were aged between 20 and 39, compared to 33% of managers in the labour force overall.

Two-thirds (66%) of secondary school principals held either a master's degree or a doctorate, compared with 57% of their elementary counterparts.

A second article examines trends in apprenticeship training in Canada between 1991 and 2003. It provides information on total registrations, new registrations, and completions. There are also details on trends across major trades groups that participate in the registered apprenticeship training system.

Note: The Survey of Principals was part of a research project sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. It was developed in partnership with a team of researchers from the faculties of education at the Université de Montréal, University of Toronto, Simon Fraser University and Université de Sherbrooke.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5065.

The study "A profile of elementary and secondary school principals in Canada: First results from the 2004/2005 Survey of Principals" is now available online in the June 2006 issue of Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada, Vol. 3, no. 2 (81-004-XIE, free). This issue also presents another feature article entitled "Trends in Registered Apprenticeship Training in Canada." From the Our products and services page, under Browse our free internet publications, choose Education, then Education Matters.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-800-307-3382 or 613-951-7608; fax: 613-951-9040; educationstats@statcan.gc.ca), Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics.



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Date Modified: 2006-06-26 Important Notices