Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

DOI

10.1080/15700763.2024.2318646

Publication Title

Leadership and Policy in Schools

Volume

In press

Pages

1-16

Abstract

This qualitative study expands our knowledge about school leader communities of practice (CoP) by examining the role they play in mitigating symptoms of burnout. Drawing primarily on in-depth interviews with school leaders in an urban California school district, this analysis applies Leiter and Maslach’s Structured Approach to Organizational Predictors of Job Burnout as a lens to understand school leaders’ experiences in a CoP focused on instructional leadership. Findings reveal dimensions of engagement known to reduce aspects of burnout, namely social closeness, a range of supports, and the perception of doing meaningful work that aligns with one’s values. This study extends the literature on school leader CoPs by drawing our attention to more subjective, humanistic benefits of CoP participation and it indicates how these cohorts may hold promise as structures for improving school leader sustainability.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article by Jason E. Saltmarsh published by Taylor & Francis in Leadership and Policy in Schools on February 19, 2024, available at https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2024.2318646

ORCID

0000-0001-5580-2201 (Saltmarsh)

Original Publication Citation

Saltmarsh, J. E. (2024). How communities of practice can mitigate school leader burnout [Article in Press]. Leadership & Policy in Schools, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2024.2318646

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Available for download on Tuesday, August 19, 2025

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