Bullied, slut-shamed, overworked: why Australia could lose an ‘entire generation’ of school principals

Australia’s school heads are grappling with depression and anxiety due to growing workloads, physical violence and bullying. Photograph: Hill Street Studios/Getty Images

Angela Falkenberg has been called a “bitch dog” while principal of a primary school. She has colleagues who have been slut-shamed, she says, and threatened with having their throats slit.

The president of the Australian Primary Principals Association (Appa) has had four decades in the education system, and says “every year, behaviour gets worse”.