The patterns of anger regulation among school principals and their sources

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore school principals' sources of felt anger and to trace their forms of anger regulation in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on semi-structured interviews with 30 elementary and secondary school principals in Israel, a typology of anger regulation is presented and analyzed.

Findings

The typology includes three types of perceived anger regulation: anger and surface acting, a moderate expression of anger and an authentic expression of anger. While teachers and students may provoke the principal's anger, most commonly external constituencies (e.g. Ministry of Education, Local Education Authorities) trigger their intense anger. Concluding the paper are suggestions for further research on anger in educational leadership and practical recommendations.

Originality/value

study fills the gap in knowledge about emotion regulation in educational leadership, in general, and increases our insights into the values and norms that delineate the degree to which anger expression is appropriate in the school, in particular.

Citation

Oplatka, I. and Nupar, I. (2023), "The patterns of anger regulation among school principals and their sources", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 681-694. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-01-2023-0001