School Principals' Emotional Coping Process

Abstract

The present study examines the emotional coping of school principals in Quebec. Emotional coping was measured by stimulated recall; six principals were filmed during a working day and presented a week later with their video showing stressful encounters. The results show that school principals experience anger because of reproaches from staff members and experience anxiety when they anticipate situations which are likely to worsen. Emotional inhibition is the most frequently used coping strategy. Overall, these findings point to the need to emphasize the role of emotional competence in the study of school principals’ stress.