Abstract
Year-round education is being promoted in the State of California in order to meet the demands of growth and provide an alternative to the traditional calendar. The purpose of this study was to compare the anticipated stressors perceived by principals facing a change to year-round calendar schools with the actual stressors experienced by principals in existing year-round schools and to determine if there were significant differences in the perception of these two groups. The perceived stressors were identified as resulting in eustress (an opportunity), neutral stress (no stress), or distress (a burden). The effects of demographic and biographic variables were also investigated. The study utilized descriptive research methods in assessing the perception of principals in the area of stress as it related to year-round education. Questionnaires were mailed to 336 principals randomly selected from the state of California. A 70 percent response rate was obtained with 234 usable surveys returned. The findings indicated a similarity of responses for the top two ranked eustress items, "high quality educational program" and "communicating with students" with the highest ranked distress item being "providing adequate storage." Four of the five null hypotheses were rejected since principals from year-round calendar schools perceived "providing adequate storage," "registering students and track assignments," and "administering negotiated contract" more positively than principals from traditional calendar schools anticipated them to be. The year-round principals reported "planning personal vacation" as more negative. Implications from the study suggest principals facing a change to year-round calendar schools develop options for scheduling vacations, providing extended year services, scheduling maintenance for continually occupied buildings, and reducing workload through effective time management. Districts need to be made aware of the possible stress created by larger enrollments and inadequate storage. Principals should also realize that some of the stress associated with year-round education is eustress and most of the stressors do not result in distress.