Understanding the experience of school leaders working part-time

Abstract

In Australia, although part-time employment is widespread across the teaching workforce (27%), part-time leadership remains relatively uncommon. Currently, 8% of middle leaders and 4% of senior leaders hold part-time roles. Perhaps due to this scarcity, very little research has examined the lived experiences of these leaders. This qualitative study explores how 14 Australian school leaders navigate part-time employment while holding leadership roles. Using semi-structured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis, we examined experiences across five nested ecological systems. Findings reveal that while part-time leadership afforded leaders flexibility to balance career and caring responsibilities, it also created significant constraints. Specifically, leaders reported feeling trapped in their current schools due to limited part-time role availability; experiencing pressure to work unpaid hours on designated days off; and having access to leadership roles depended heavily on principal support. The study further reveals persistent, gendered dynamics as 13 of 14 participants were women who had predominantly transitioned to part-time work to manage caring responsibilities. We conclude that the current leadership pipeline disadvantages part-time workers (predominantly women) and argue system-level policy changes, including conceptualising leadership roles as part-time positions and supporting principals to recognise part-time leadership talent, are essential for creating an equitable and sustainable leadership pipeline.