Key Papers

SASSLA has recently developed a paper which develops a future scenario for the function of the Band A Principal and Preschool Director (PSD) labour market. The paper is available to read here.

The development of a future scenario of the functioning of the Band A labour market is a valuable tool to assess future risks and weigh up countervailing policy options. It can provide important information on how to approach topical policy areas including the current proposal to offer Band A position as permanent roles.

Labour market analysis looks at three key variables:

• Establishment Demand: the number of Principal and PSD roles that need to be filled.
• Replacement Demand: the number of people who exit Principal and PSD roles each year that have to be replaced.
• Supply of New Candidates: the number, capability and mobility of people actively seeking Band A roles.

In developing a future scenario, an assessment of how economic, social, policy and demographic contexts is required. This assessment requires exploration of existing drivers and trends that will shape the behaviour of the people who participate in the market.

Based on the scenario developed, the employee behaviour will be influenced by trends which restricts or limits access to, or do not incentivise employees to apply for Band A roles. This is an important area for future inquiry and research.

Under the future scenario developed, the pool of potential applicants for Principal roles will be lower than historical averages due to restricted access and disincentives to actively seek out Band A roles. Under this scenario the following policy considerations are evident:

• Challenging conditions in hard to staff and low SES schools are likely to continue in the medium to longer term. Specific programs and incentives may need to be developed to incentivise mobility to these schools.
• Lower levels of mobility will place an increased emphasis on internal development of leaders in situ or in defined geographic locations.
• Job design and conditions of employment may need to be redesigned around the interests and needs of employees to ensure the best teachers are attracted to leadership roles.
• New organisation models of schooling may need to be developed to cater for specific circumstances where chronic labour market conditions exist.

Under the scenario presented, candidate supply conditions for Band A school leaders will remain challenging for the foreseeable future. Further deterioration of conditions is more likely than improvement. Preschool Director market conditions are likely to deteriorate in the medium term due to internal supply pressures and increased intersectoral competition due to future government investment in early education in South Australia and other States.