The lived experiences of principals in the northeast United States in supporting the social-emotional wellbeing of their school community during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigated the lived experiences of (12) elementary and middle school principals in the Northeast United States throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the emergency COVID-19 guidelines that have been implemented across schools in the United States, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how principals support the social-emotional wellbeing of their school community and make emergency policy decisions during crisis. Through virtual interviews, elementary and middle school principals shared their unique perspectives around the perceived impact that COVID-19 emergency guidelines had on their schools, actions they took to support their schools' socio-emotionally, and the ways in which they made decisions around emergency policy. The study revealed that leaders and teachers experienced higher levels of stress due to the COVID-19 emergency guidelines, and students had fewer opportunities for social interactions. Principals also had to leverage existing socio-emotional supports and develop innovative methods to promote the socio-emotional wellbeing of their school communities throughout the pandemic. Throughout the crisis, policy decisions were made by leaning on experts, considering safety and operational feasibility, and deliberating community perception. The ways in which principals individually perceived and interpreted emergency guidelines also influenced the decision-making process and implementation. School communities were impacted by emergency guidelines in profound ways and principals recognized the critical importance of supporting their school community socio-emotionally during crisis. Principals prioritized the overall safety of their school communities regardless of the impact on socio-emotional health. Lastly, this study provided recommendations not only for future policy in education, but potential practices that will provide targeted socio-emotional interventions to students and strengthen community connections. Recommendations for future studies are also included to help bring to light the degree COVID-19 emergency guidelines have impacted schools throughout the United States for generations to come. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Smart collaborative ecosystem: leading complex school systems

Purpose: The need to innovate and apply alternative forms of school organization is evident as the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a need to establish new conceptualizations of schools and education management. The paradigm shift in learning inexorably necessitates a corresponding paradigm shift in educational organization, administration and management in order to build organizational resilience and capital. This study proposed framework seeks to address this issue by proposing a transformation of educational organization and management, shifting away from the unilateral, hierarchical school models and towards a unique, smart collaborative school ecosystem in which residents, industries, schools, universities and research centers can create new digital knowledge and inventive products, services and solutions by enlarging their capitals. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing upon Bourdieu's theory of social capital, our theoretical contribution is to present the influence of three forms of capital (social, economic and cultural) in cultivating educational capacity and resilience in the school ecosystem, with a particular focus on the role of digital capital in reinforcing the school ecosystem capitals. The authors also argue that ecosystem leaders and principals as boundary spanners play an important role in promoting capital exchange and enlargement as they balance the permeability of organizational boundaries at times of crisis by maneuvering across fields. Findings: Achieving educational improvement and building organizational capacity and resilience through the enlargement of system (and subsystem) capitals requires that key actors develop synchronized interpretations of educational aims and functions in various contexts. The authors delineate the importance of developing a synchronization strategy in the proposed conceptualization of smart and resilient school ecosystems. Originality/value: By integrating research from both non-educational and educational literature, the proposed framework provides a new perspective for educational administration, organization and management, shifting away from the unilateral, hierarchical school models toward a unique, smart collaborative school ecosystem in which members can create new knowledge by enlarging their capitals. Practical lessons for leaders and policymakers from our conceptual framework are proposed. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Remote Leadership: A (Re)qualification of School Leaders in Portugal

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about new challenges to schools' organization leaderships and to school leaders. This study, of qualitative nature, aims at understanding the impact occurred in the area of school management, in pandemic times, from the leaders' perspective, in Portugal. The investigation question is: what prevailed during the remote school management of the leader's team amidst the COVID-19 pandemic time? The sample is a video, with 2 min and 47 s, done by the Leader of a Cluster of Schools, in the North of Portugal, within the context of activities related to affection, promoted by the group of Schools' Libraries, entitled "Month of Affections”, when COVID-19 lockdown was mandatory. The content analysis was done using the webQDA® software. All ethical rules were accounted for. The main results are: (i) adaptation and remote management;(ii) challenges to leadership and (iii) vision for the future. It was concluded that, due to the mandatory social distance, the Leader chose for an active and creative virtual presence (re)qualifying his leadership. The concept of this remote leadership kept the organizational balance, leading his co-workers to achieve the defined objectives. The remote leadership will have to be a dialogical field in the Public Policies of the Ministry of Education and Science in Portugal. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Examining the roles of secondary school leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic: Vital elements in serving Hispanic/Latinx students

The literature on crisis leadership is saturated with a multitude of theoretical frameworks, definitions, domains, typologies, models, philosophies, schools of thought, and approaches regarding the nature of leadership and how leaders manage crises in different contexts (Bhaduri, 2019;Khan & Nawaz, 2016;McNulty et al., 2018;Mumford et al., 2007;Wooten & James, 2008;Zaccaro, 2007). Although there is a rigorous body of knowledge about crisis leadership, there is limited research about crisis leadership within secondary schools in marginalized spaces. The few existing studies are limited in significant ways. First, most of the studies in crisis leadership in schools focus on events of a localized nature within school boundaries, such as fires, school violence (including school shootings), and natural disasters. Second, the majority of studies, while discussing theoretical frameworks effectively, neglect to comprehensively examine the significant roles school leaders assume during these crises. Third, these studies are presented from a traditional majoritarian point of view without considering the cultural capital and community wealth minorities bring to the context of crisis leadership. Finally, there is a lack of research that explicitly examines how school leaders respond to crisis in secondary schools serving traditionally under-resourced Hispanic/Latinx students who attend schools in marginalized communities. This study aimed at closing this gap by exploring and examining the roles campus and school district leaders assumed during COVID-19 within a crisis leadership context and why this work matters. As an exploratory qualitative case study of two district's responses to COVID-19, the data illuminated that this resulted in a variety of new roles and responsibilities that specifically met identified needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Crisis management: PK-12 leaders & resilience building practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented evolving challenges for educational leaders. This study will explore the crisis management practices of PK-12 public school superintendents. Specifically, the team will consider effective resilience-building practices as a means for leaders to manage a prolonged crisis. A comparative case study was conducted to analyze publicly available documents across two cases (Eastern and Western regions) in the state of Washington. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school communities only had access to publicly available documents emphasizing the importance of exploring forward facing documents. The analysis of the study was informed by the theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory with specific consideration of the concept of majoritarian narrative in addition to the conceptual framework of resiliency-building. Data was collected and analyzed for themes relating to the identified crisis management and resilience-building practices. The team utilized an InVivo coding process to identify verbatim codes that were then coded thematically to identify major themes. Eight themes emerged from the data after multiple rounds of interrater coding rounds including: (a) community, (b) collaboration, (c) resources, (d) racial equity, (e) communication, (f) social-emotional supports, (g) gratitude, and (h) perseverance. In conjunction with thorough research, the analysis indicated that in order for communities to build resilience, there must be an emphasis on community voice through collaboration with leaders. The study concludes with a framework for leaders seeking to implement resilience-building practices in their crisis management that support the development and maintenance of resilient communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Who's there? Characterizing interaction in virtual classrooms

The Covid-19 crisis changed the educational landscape. In Sweden, as in many other countries, school leaders, teachers, and students faced a completely new situation, as teaching would immediately be conducted remotely. It offered an opportunity to continue teaching in a crisis, while giving rise to new questions and dilemmas. This study aims to explore aspects of interaction in the virtual classroom. The context is four high schools in Sweden. Data includes a teacher survey and ten workshops with teachers and school leaders. The interaction order framework is used as an analytic lens. The results draw a multifaceted picture of interaction that involves both increased and reduced contact with, and control over, the students and their activities. Some students find a place in the virtual classroom that they previously lacked, while others "disappear behind the screen." Contributions include unpacking the complex role of interaction in the virtual classroom and providing implications for teachers and school leaders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

An analysis of virtual professional development for school leaders during covid-19

As a major component of leadership development, professional development (PD) support, needs more researchers to focus on possible ways to build school leaders instructional capacity. Despite the increasing use of virtual professional development (VPD) as venues for leadership development, little is known about the essential components of an effective VPD. With the advent of COVID-19, the authors pivoted to VPD focused on improving school principals abilities to help teachers increase their instructional capacity. More specifically, they provided a virtual summer leadership institute (VSLI) on peer coaching via VPD. Since research on effective PD calls for school leaders to translate their learning into leadership practice, they addressed in their sequential explanatory mixed methods study how practicing school leaders in the United States perceived the effectiveness of VPD on school leaders professional knowledge and growth related to the VPD topic of peer coaching. They conclude with seven specific principles to consider when developing and providing such a VPD experience for school leaders. © 2022 IGI Global. All rights reserved.

The institutional nature of upper secondary education during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis: New experience and changed agency of school leaders

In the spring of 2020, the closure of upper secondary schools was authorised, and all on-site teaching was transferred to distance settings due to COVID-19. The schools were closed almost the entire spring semester. In the autumn, the organisation of schoolwork changed repeatedly concurrently with ever-chang-ing regulations. The aim of this study is to gain understanding of the work experience, tasks and the cooperation school principals and assistant principals had with different stakeholders outside and inside the upper secondary schools during the first year of the pandemic and reflect changes in their agency. The results are based on a mixed method, relying on two questionnaire surveys sub-mitted to all upper secondary school staff in Iceland, as well as interviewees with six school principals and assistant school principals from three upper secondary schools. In the light of neo-institutional theories, de-institutionalization in some degree was identified. The findings show that the tasks of the school leaders increased in complexity, and so did the workload. As the pandemic progressed, contact with the external environment, staff members, students and parents in-creased. At the same time, they had to lead the most extensive changes that have been made to schoolwork to date on top of their traditional working duties. Certain aspects of schooling changed significantly during the pandemic, at least temporarily, while the centralised and institutional-oriented emphases of exter-nal stakeholders harmonised with the schools' institutional framework. Concur-rently, school leaders responded either as organisational leaders or institutional leaders. The tasks of school leaders developed during this time. In parallel with the increased call for pedagogical support, they took the lead on certain organi-sational aspects of the teaching. However, they did not go beyond their agency and thus they respected the professional independence of teachers. There were substantial distances between professionals and a certain gap formed between staff members, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, which fostered iso-lation of school leaders. The results raise pressing questions about division of labour and mandates, work related stress and professional support. In addition, the article highlights weaknesses in communication between different groups within the school community, at least during the pandemic.

Examining the roles of secondary school leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic: Vital elements in serving Hispanic/Latinx students

The literature on crisis leadership is saturated with a multitude of theoretical frameworks, definitions, domains, typologies, models, philosophies, schools of thought, and approaches regarding the nature of leadership and how leaders manage crises in different contexts (Bhaduri, 2019;Khan & Nawaz, 2016;McNulty et al., 2018;Mumford et al., 2007;Wooten & James, 2008;Zaccaro, 2007). Although there is a rigorous body of knowledge about crisis leadership, there is limited research about crisis leadership within secondary schools in marginalized spaces. The few existing studies are limited in significant ways. First, most of the studies in crisis leadership in schools focus on events of a localized nature within school boundaries, such as fires, school violence (including school shootings), and natural disasters. Second, the majority of studies, while discussing theoretical frameworks effectively, neglect to comprehensively examine the significant roles school leaders assume during these crises. Third, these studies are presented from a traditional majoritarian point of view without considering the cultural capital and community wealth minorities bring to the context of crisis leadership. Finally, there is a lack of research that explicitly examines how school leaders respond to crisis in secondary schools serving traditionally under-resourced Hispanic/Latinx students who attend schools in marginalized communities. This study aimed at closing this gap by exploring and examining the roles campus and school district leaders assumed during COVID-19 within a crisis leadership context and why this work matters. As an exploratory qualitative case study of two district's responses to COVID-19, the data illuminated that this resulted in a variety of new roles and responsibilities that specifically met identified needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Perceived Stress, Well-Being and Their Relations with Work-Related Behaviours among Hong Kong School Leaders during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The health and well-being of school leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic have been largely neglected compared to the health and well-being of students and teachers. This study assessed the magnitude of perceived stress and well-being and the associated factors, including number of working hours, work-related sense of coherence (work-SoC), perceived stress, self-endangering work behaviour, secondary burnout symptoms, and satisfaction with work, among school leaders in Hong Kong, China during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional, survey-based study collected demographic data and mental health measurements from 259 eligible school leaders in Hong Kong from April 2021 to February 2022. Pearson's correlation analyses, multilinear regression models, and independent-samples Student's t-tests were performed. The findings revealed that school leaders' perceived stress was negatively correlated with their well-being (r = -0.544, p < 0.01) and work-related SoC (r = -0.327, p < 0.01) but positively correlated with their extensification of work (r = 0.473, p < 0.01), exhaustion related to work situations (r = 0.559, p < 0.01), and psychosomatic complaints (r = 0.439, p < 0.01). In a model that adjusted for gender and age, student leaders with higher subjective well-being scores had a lower level of perceived stress (B = -0.031; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.59, -0.02; p = 0.034), whereas leaders in schools with a larger student population had a higher level of perceived stress (B = 0.002; 95% CI, 0.000, 0.003; p = 0.030). School leaders with a higher likelihood of performing the self-endangering work behaviour of 'intensification of work' had higher perceived stress levels (B = 1.497; 95% CI, 0.717, 2.278; p < 0.001). School leaders with a higher work-related SoC (B = 4.20; 95% CI, 1.290, 7.106; p = 0.005) had a higher level of well-being. School leaders with higher levels of perceived stress (B = -0.734; 95% CI, -1.423, -0.044; p = 0.037), a higher likelihood of performing the self-endangering work behaviour of 'extensification of work' (B = -4.846; 95% CI, -8.543, -1.149; p = 0.010), and a higher score for exhaustion related to work (B = -10.449; 95% CI, -13.864, -7.033; p = 0.000) showed lower levels of well-being. The finding of a high incidence of stress among school leadership justifies the need for more societal attention to the well-being of school leaders in Hong Kong. It is important that policies and initiatives are designed to enhance the well-being of school leaders and that they are supported in leading the management of schools and coping with stress in school settings.

Virtual professional development on conflict management for school leaders

From 2017 until 2020, we held face-to-face professional development focused on enhancing instructional leadership for underserved schools at the campus level. We quickly determined in March 2020, based on the predicted situation of COVID-19, that we needed to change that venue to virtual professional development (VPD). The study was grounded in the theoretical base of adult learning theory and transformational learning since we were working with school leaders. The researchers used a mixed methods research design with a survey to examine to what extent school leaders perceived their engagement in a synchronous VPD webinar with facilitators increased their knowledge on the topic of conflict management. The findings showed that the participants perceived targeted VPD to have significantly increased their knowledge on conflict management. Additionally, the participating school leaders indicated a shift in their attitudes from negative to positive perceptions regarding conflict. The findings suggest that structured VPD for school leaders has the potential to advance school leaders’ knowledge on conflict management. Copyright © 2022 Irby, Pashmforoosh, Druery, Lara-Alecio, Tong, Etchells and Algert.

Identifying the Leadership Challenges of K-12 Public Schools During COVID-19 Disruption: A Systematic Literature Review.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic is triggering a public health emergency and crisis on a large scale, with far-reaching effects and severe damage to all aspects of politics, economy, cultural and social life, and health. Consecutive outbreaks over the past nearly 2 years of "living with COVID-19" have forced most schools to physically close, resulting in the largest educational disruption in human history. In turbulent times of the COVID-19 crisis, school leaders are facing numerous major challenges germane to school governance and leadership. The key objective of the study is to fully explore the prospective challenges principals are encountering in public schools in times of COVID-19. To fulfill the research purpose, a systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out to investigate the leadership challenges. As a result, a total of 24 challenges were explored through SLR approach. Frequency analysis approach was initially applied to figure out the most significant challenges. Accordingly, seven challenges were found statistically significant as showing frequency ≥ 50 each. Irrevocably, the study works as a contribution to K-12 school leadership by providing guidance for current and future leaders in crisis based on practical investigation, experiences, and recommendations. Policy makers can leverage these findings to make necessary adjustments to school policy to better prepare school leaders for crisis. Additionally, the findings of the current study are believed to have profound implications for future research. These findings expand our current understanding on school leadership in time of crisis that needs further investigation. Subsequent studies can quantitatively and/or qualitatively validate these leadership challenges findings regarding a particular school context.

School leaders' perceptions of an inclusive, equity-focused social-emotional learning framework in diverse school settings

Social-emotional learning and the general well-being of students and teachers is a top priority in education, especially in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic also brought to light inequities prevalent in all social settings, not the least of which is within education. In this study, I sought to understand the perceptions of school and district-level leaders on the implementation of a social-emotional-learning framework through an inclusive, equity focused lens. Each of the participants were graduates of Breathe for Change, a 200-hour social-emotional wellness training rooted in social justice. I gathered information through the interviews of eight school and district-based administrators to gain insights into their perspectives of leading for social justice. Data collection occurred during the Spring of 2021 in one-hour virtual interviews. The interviews allowed me to learn directly from administrators about their social-emotional-leadership development, alignment and coherence of social-emotional programming, and the student experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Unravelling the business of educational leaders in times of uncertainty

The main thrust of this paper is to explore factors from the business sector, which could inspire school leaders in terms of issue/problem formulation during their decision-making process. This conceptual paper examines diachronically and conceptually the issues of uncertainty, not only in terms of context and decision-making, but also having in mind leaders' and leadership's main characteristics as well. The question remains whether concepts of uncertainty management practices from the business sector might offer insights for school principals in order to make connections between what is happening inside and outside the organization. The paper is organized around five sections dealing with the conceptual basis of the two main terms, crisis and uncertainty and how leaders in the business sector deal with these. Following, we focus on educational leaders and their ways of navigating through crisis and uncertainty and we conclude with some observations about how leaders make the best possible decisions under the circumstances. We end the paper by stressing that, perhaps, many of the leadership qualities and characteristics needed in times of "normality" are more or less similar to those needed in times of uncertainty. However, school leaders need to learn to act faster with clearer and constant communication. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Educational Management Administration & Leadership is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Ethical considerations of school leaders responding to COVID-19

The dual purpose of this qualitative narrative-phenomenological study was, first, to understand the lived experiences of school leader's decision-making during the spring 2020, COVID-19 school shut down and how the experience shaped the re-entry plan creation, implementation, and adjustment during the 2020-2021 school year. The second purpose of the study was to discover how school leaders' perceptions amidst the turbulence and Contextual Forces helped shape their ability to make ethical decisions and respond to Contextual Forces as the leaders created and implemented school re-entry plans during the 2020-2021 school year. The framework of this study was based on Lewin's (1947) 3-Step Change Theory and Shapiro and Gross' (2013) Multiple Ethical Paradigm and Turbulence Theory. With research question one, this study supported prior research on the themes of collaboration, communication, relationships, student achievement, and power of position within public school districts. When considering purpose two of the study, the Ethical Paradigms of Shapiro and Gross (2013) played an integral role in school leader decision-making within the COVID phenomenon during the spring 2020 shutdown through the 2020-2021 school year. School leaders during this time utilized the Ethic of Justice, which emphasizes legal guidance, and the Ethic of Care, which emphasizes concern for individuals' welfare, when considering their ethical decisions. However, as the year progressed, the Ethics of Justice began to be challenged by school leaders by the Ethic of Profession to reconcile decisions within community codes and ethos. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

School Health Promotion at the Time of COVID-19: An Exploratory Investigation with School Leaders and Teachers.

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the entire school population's emotions and the disruption of the organization of the school world. In this context it is important to reflect on the role of health promotion at school. The present study aimed at exploring school leaders' and teachers' perspectives and experiences about COVID-19 pandemic and its effects in the school and education system. The first objective was to gather the experience of school leaders regarding the change in school organization, with particular attention to organizational and health promotion aspects. The second was to investigate the perception of health promotion and self-efficacy of teachers in primary, middle and high schools. The research was conducted using qualitative (focus groups for the school leaders) and quantitative methods (questionnaires for the teachers). The findings showed new ways of improving wellbeing at school and implementing health promotion through the sharing of good practice between school leaders. The need for time and space to reflect among school leaders on the educational and didactic aspects of school organization also emerged. Teachers showed a low to medium level of self-efficacy regarding the adoption of strategies in line with health promotion; specificities for each grade and level will be discussed.