Demographic characteristics (by gender).

The COVID-19 pandemic caused far-reaching societal changes, including significant educational impacts affecting over 1.6 billion pupils and 100 million education practitioners globally. Senior school leaders were at the forefront and were exposed to particularly high demands during a period of “crisis leadership”. This occupation were already reporting high work-related stress and large numbers leaving the profession preceding COVID-19. This cross-sectional descriptive study through the international COVID-Health Literacy network aimed to examine the well-being and work-related stress of senior school leaders (n = 323) in Wales (n = 172) and Northern Ireland (n = 151) during COVID-19 (2021–2022). Findings suggest that senior school leaders reported high workloads (54.22±11.30 hours/week), low well-being (65.2% n = 202, mean WHO-5 40.85±21.57), depressive symptoms (WHO-5 34.8% n = 108) and high work-related stress (PSS-10: 29.91±4.92). High exhaustion (BAT: high/very high 89.0% n = 285) and specific psychosomatic complaints (experiencing muscle pain 48.2% n = 151) were also reported, and females had statistically higher outcomes in these areas. School leaders were engaging in self-endangering working behaviours; 74.7% (n = 239) gave up leisure activities in favour of work and 63.4% (n = 202) sacrificed sufficient sleep, which was statistically higher for females. These findings are concerning given that the UK is currently experiencing a “crisis” in educational leadership against a backdrop of pandemic-related pressures. Senior leaders’ high attrition rates further exacerbate this, proving costly to educational systems and placing additional financial and other pressures on educational settings and policy response. This has implications for senior leaders and pupil-level outcomes including health, well-being and educational attainment, requiring urgent tailored and targeted support from the education and health sectors. This is particularly pertinent for Wales and Northern Ireland as devolved nations in the UK, who are both implementing or contemplating major education system level reforms, including new statutory national curricula, requiring significant leadership, engagement and ownership from the education profession.新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行造成了影响深远的社会变革，其中对教育领域的冲击尤为显著，全球范围内超16亿学生及1亿教育从业者受到波及。中小学高层管理者身处教育危机应对的前沿，在“危机领导力”履职阶段面临极高的工作要求。早在新冠疫情暴发前，该岗位群体就已存在较高的工作相关压力，且有大量人员选择离职转行。 本研究依托国际COVID健康素养（COVID-Health Literacy）网络开展横断面描述性研究，旨在调研2021—2022年新冠疫情期间，威尔士（172名）与北爱尔兰（151名）共323名中小学高层管理者的心理健康状况与工作相关压力水平。 研究结果显示，受访的中小学高层管理者普遍面临高工作负荷（每周54.22±11.30小时）、较低的心理健康水平（65.2%的受访者，即202人，世界卫生组织5条目幸福感量表（WHO-5）平均得分为40.85±21.57），抑郁症状检出率达34.8%（108人），且工作相关压力水平较高（知觉压力量表10条目版（PSS-10）得分为29.91±4.92）。此外，受访者还报告了较高的职业倦怠程度（职业倦怠量表（BAT）显示89.0%的受访者，即285人，处于高/极高倦怠水平）以及特定的心身不适症状（48.2%的受访者，即151人，存在肌肉疼痛症状），且女性在上述指标上的得分显著更高，差异具有统计学意义。 受访的学校管理者还存在有损自身健康的工作行为：74.7%的受访者（239人）放弃休闲活动以投入工作，63.4%的受访者（202人）牺牲了充足的睡眠，且女性出现上述两种行为的比例显著更高，差异具有统计学意义。 考虑到英国当前在疫情相关压力的背景下，教育领导力领域正面临“危机”，上述研究结果令人担忧。高层管理者的高离职率进一步加剧了这一危机，不仅对教育系统造成了高昂的成本损耗，还给教育机构与政策应对带来了额外的财政及其他方面的压力。 这一现状对高层管理者自身以及学生的健康、心理健康与学业表现等多方面发展结果均存在影响，因此亟需教育与卫生健康部门提供定制化、针对性的支持。作为英国的分权自治地区，威尔士与北爱尔兰目前均在推行或考虑实施重大的教育体系改革，包括新增法定国家课程，这一改革需要教育行业充分发挥领导力、积极参与并承担主体责任，因此上述研究结果对两地尤为具有针对性。