Educational Leadership at the Time of Crisis: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19, the recent health threat that affected almost every part of the world, has had a huge impact on education and educators. While many researchers devoted their attention to exploring ways through which teachers and students could be supported at the time of a pandemic, this paper focuses on a different population: educational leaders. Effective educational leadership at the time of crisis is crucial not only because of its big impact and magnitude but also because it sets an example for how similar situations could be handled in the future. In this paper, the researcher first looks at the qualities and capacities needed of leaders at the time of emergency. She also discusses the need for educational contingency planning and crisis preparedness. Attention is then shifted to handling future crises and emergencies by shedding light on leadership essentials that school and district administrators should be equipped to handle. The paper ends by proposing some recommendations for leader preparation programs so that aspiring leaders are ready to deal with similar situations in the future.

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.

Malcom X