Pressure management: factors influencing the turnover intentions of school middle leaders in Scotland

This research examines what influences middle leaders’ intention to leave or remain in teaching, through analysis of data from 273 Principal Teachers (PTs) in Scottish schools who participated in the national Teacher Workload Research project, 2024. By integrating turnover theories with educational leadership research, the study identifies key drivers of turnover intentions among this critical yet understudied occupational group. Findings reveal that intentions to leave consistently align with four interrelated challenges – workload, student conduct, parental expectations and learner needs – regardless of geographical location, sector or individual characteristics, indicating systemic issues requiring policy attention. The analysis demonstrates that contextual conditions undermine policy aspirations for middle leaders to function as change agents and leaders of learning, instead positioning them primarily as operational support for senior management. PTs effectively serve as institutional dampeners, absorbing job shocks that may reduce turnover intentions among classroom teachers while triggering their own. Their role as key nodal actors places them in constant reactive mode, adversely affecting professional identity and occupational wellbeing. The findings suggest that aspirations for instructional leadership must critically consider how changed working conditions impact professional capacity.