The lucid loneliness of the gatekeeper: exploring the emotional dimension in principals’ work lives

Based on a secondary analysis of studies on Flemish primary schools, the article argues that the metaphor of the gatekeeper, on the threshold between the outside‐school and the inside‐school world, is a powerful frame to capture some of the particular complexities of principals’ emotional experience of themselves and their working conditions. More in particular, the image allows for a more refined and in‐depth understanding of the emotional and relational aspects in the position and role of the principal. Apart from depicting the working conditions of leadership in terms of the gatekeeper‐image, the authors contend that the inevitable normative character of education contributes to a sense of vulnerability and emotionality in leadership. Two themes appeared to be prominent in principals’ experience of their gatekeeper’s position: first, being caught in a web of conflicting loyalties and second, the struggle between loneliness and belonging. Underneath these themes—it is argued—lies the issue of the principal’s professional self in the particular school. The article concludes with suggestions for the training of (future) principals.