3. What are dispositions to teach?

Dispositions is an empty vessel that could be filled with any agenda

you want. (Gershman, 2005, n.p.) The values, commitments and professional ethics that influence
behaviors towards students, families, colleagues and communities and affect student learning,
motivation, and development as well as the educator’s own professional growth. Dispositions are
guided by beliefs and attitudes related to values such as caring, fairness, honesty, responsibility, and
social justice. For example, they might include a belief that all students can learn, a vision of high and
challenging standards, or a commitment to a safe and supportive learning environment. (NCATE, 2002,
p. 53) Although the term “teacher dispositions” has been present for several decades in the various
research literatures concerning “teacher effectiveness”, contemporary scholarly and professional
literatures on “dispositions to teach” have been significantly shaped by two teacher education policy
developments in the United States. First, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support
Consortium (INTASC) released a set of model standards (knowledge, skills and dispositions) for
beginning teachers in 1992, which were eventually adopted by more than thirty states (Diez & Murrell,
2010a, p. 3). Second, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) decided in
2000 (ratified in 2002) that initial teacher education (ITE) providers must in future assess teacher
candidate outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills, dispositions and performance (Wise, 2006). (The
original NCATE definition of dispositions appears in the indented quotation above.) An emphasis on
dispositions would, it was argued, “necessarily lead to issues of a teacher’s character and personality
(i.e., his or her moral agency)” (Socket, 2006a, p. 7). In the dispositions to teach literatures, a
commitment to meet the needs of all students in increasingly diverse classrooms (economically, socially,
culturally) is commonly regarded as a moral and ethical obligation for anyone who wishes to practise as
a teacher today, and this is reflected in the way that dispositions are typically distinguished from teacher
candidate knowledge and skills. However, all three are conceptualised as mutually dependent in actual
teacher candidate performances. 6 Four major edited collections of papers on dispositions to teach
(their conception, development, enactment and evaluation and the challenges posed by each of these),
written by various interest groups of teacher educators, usefully map the field in the United States
(Sockett, 2006; Borko, Liston & Whitcomb, 2007; Diez & Raths, 2007; Murrell, Diez, Ferman-Nemser &
Schussler, 2010). (The searches did not identify any edited collections of papers from other jurisdictions,
which suggests that the research and policy discourses may as yet be immature elsewhere.) Members of
the Task Force wrote the first of these, edited by Hugh Sockett and entitled Teacher Dispositions:
Building a Teacher Education Framework of Moral Standards, on Teacher Education as a Moral
Community of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). As its title implies,
the task force was of the view that “the development of professional dispositions in a teacher is a
process of moral education, given that teaching quality is primarily a moral, not technical, matter”
(Sockett, 2006b, p. 9). Sockett’s paper argues that dispositions comprise both “moral and intellectual
virtues” (2006b p. 23): Intellectually, the teacher at least must be honest and accurate, say what he or
she thinks, be consistent, and perhaps be brave. Morally, the teacher must be impartial, compassionate,
and kind, without prejudice and with a great sensitivity to the child’s needs and interests. (p. 23) Sockett
(2006b) argues that the dispositions teacher educators wish to develop must take into account the
dispositions that they and individual candidates already have. He also argues that different moral
perspectives (character, rules and relationships) emphasise different “primary dispositions” (p. 17).
Dottin (2006) extends this in the second paper to consider the moral dispositions that professional
teacher education communities need to develop to “guide the life of the unit” (p. 27) and the conduct of
all those involved in the ITE enterprise. In other words, how do those who are collectively responsible
for educating teacher candidates articulate “how life in the unit ought to be lived and how that life will
enable students to acquire requisite habits of mind and moral sensibilities or dispositions” (p. 28)? In the
third paper, Mary Diez (2006a) (consistently one of the most influential writers in the field) considers
how the processes of articulating and developing dispositions need to be linked to “appropriate and
meaningful processes to assess teacher candidates’ dispositions” (p. 49), not superficial checklists that
are “appropriated from a list and inserted in an otherwise 7 unchanged program” (p. 66). In short, the
argument of these authors is dispositions comprise not just the personal intellectual and moral virtues
that individual teacher candidates bring with them, but also the culture and life of the ITE provider in
which desirable dispositions to teach are modelled and developed, and the assessment approaches that
make them visible and amenable to demonstrations of performance and growth. The second collection
was a special issue section of the Journal of Teacher Education (published by Sage on behalf of AACTE),
introduced with an editorial entitled Apples and Fishes: The debate over dispositions in teacher
education (Borko, Liston & Whitcomb, 2007). The editorial noted the heated, often polarised,
professional debate that had emerged around dispositions following the NCATE 2000 mandate and
summarised the principled cases for and against dispositions. Advocates were reported to argue that
dispositions “are essential to effective teaching”, are “predictive of patterns of action” and “help to
answer the question of whether teachers are likely to apply the knowledge and skills they learn in
teacher preparation programs to their own classroom teaching” (p. 361). Proponents argue that their
purpose is to “ensure that people who are licensed to teach will be committed to fostering growth and
learning in all students. It is not to screen teachers on the basis of their social or political ideologies” (p.
361). Proponents acknowledge that “psychometrically sound measures” may not yet be widely available
(p. 361) but that the need to develop “reliable, valid and fair measures” and to research the
“relationship between dispositions and teacher effectiveness” (p. 361) should not prevent their use in
the meantime. Opponents reportedly argue that there is “no agreed-upon definition of the construct”
and even that it is “inherently fuzzy and difficult”, which mean, “dispositions cannot be measured
reliably and validly” (p. 362). Without an operational definition or psychometrically sound measures, we
cannot gather empirical evidence to determine the impact of teacher dispositions on student
achievement. (Borko, Liston & Whitcomb, 2007, p. 362) Opponents claim that the use of dispositions
“runs the risk of supporting a social or political agenda of indoctrination” (p. 362) of teacher candidates.
The editors conclude, “arguments about dispositions draw upon two fundamentally different types of
claims—those based on values and those based on empirical measurement” (p. 362) (hence the title of
the editorial – apples and fishes). Elsewhere, Diez (2006b), makes a similar distinction: 8 … the literature
on teacher education evaluation suggests a deep division between those who hold to the epistemology
of intelligence and those who are engaging the epistemology of mind. The impact of the choice of one or
the other is nowhere more clear and more important than in the assessment of dispositions. (p. 64) The
claims analysed in the rest of the Journal of Teacher Education collection explore: (i) the differences
between dispositions defined as beliefs and attitudes, personality traits, observable behaviours and
moral sensibility or professional ethics (Burrant, Chubbuck & Whipp, 2007); (ii) the utility of teacher
candidate assessment based on clearly defined principles derived from the mainstream psychological
construct of disposition (Damon, 2007); (iii) the tensions between fixed “entity” and developmental
“growth” views of dispositions, between “separate” and “holistic” views of assessment of dispositions,
and between their use for “screening individuals” versus “building a professional community” (Diez,
2007a); (iv) the lack of psychological meaning and explanatory value in the dispositions currently in use
(Murray, 2007); and (v) the importance and practicality of assessing candidates’ commitment to social
justice (Villegas, 2007). Importantly, as the editors imply, approaches that give preference to values over
observation and measurement, or vice versa, may simply be categorically different. Both are regarded as
important elements of “dispositions” but may in practice be irreconcilable. The third collection,
Dispositions in Teacher Education (Diez & Raths, 2007), also acknowledges the ongoing disputes about
the conception, use, assessment and development of dispositions in teacher education. The opening
chapter (Freeman, 2007a) articulates a series of unresolved questions that still faced American teacher
educators in the mid-2000s as they grappled with the NCATE rubric: 1. What is a disposition? 2. How do
we distinguish the dispositional from the non-dispositional? 3. How are dispositions identified? 4. How
do dispositions develop and change? 5. Are dispositions descriptive statements that characterize an
individual’s behavior or do dispositions cause behavior? (Freeman, 2007a p. 5). Freeman identifies five
distinct theoretical perspectives towards dispositions in the collection. Accordingly, dispositions may be
viewed as: (i) a form of social cognition manifested in behaviour (Breese & Nawocki-Chabin, 2007); (ii)
being consistent across the helping 9 professions, and may be identified, developed and assessed using
perceptual psychology instruments (Wasciscko, 2007); (iii) capable of nurture and development across
conceptual, ego and moral domains (Oja & Reiman, 2007); (iv) contextual processes that “manifest
themselves in particular places at particular times and as a result it is virtually impossible to identify a
priori the dispositions that enable to [sic] an educator to be effective” (p. 25) (Freeman, 2007b); or (v)
forms of personal identity and integrity (Hare, 2007) which involve “seeing the development of teacher
dispositions as following a series of discernments about the self in relationships to the role of the
teacher” (Freeman, 2007a p. 25). In both this volume and the one below, there is an increasing
emphasis on the challenges of using dispositions in teacher education. In the third collection, according
to Freeman, two major problems are identified: “how to assess the adequacy of the dispositions
manifested by an individual educator and how to assist individuals in developing or reducing the power
of disposition” (2007a, p. 26) In the fourth collection, Teaching as a Moral Practice: Defining, developing,
and assessing dispositions in teacher education (Murrell, Diez, Feiman-Nemser & Schussler, 2010), seven
institutional cases of attempts to satisfy the NCATE requirement are reported, together with an
introductory overview of the dispositions field and a concluding cross-case analysis by two of the editors
(Feiman-Nemser & Schlusser, 2010). Feiman-Nemser and Schussler make the points that: (i)
“conceptualizing dispositions is as much about a process as it is an end product” (p. 177). This is
because, for the teacher educators it “includes the relational and intellectual work of developing a
shared, moral vision within and across programs” (p. 177). Conceptualisation includes defining,
enumerating and justifying the selected dispositions (p. 178); (ii) the lack of a shared definition of
dispositions does not mean there are no commonalities across definitions used in the case study
institutions. Half of the institutions emphasised the importance of social context, which suggests that ITE
providers need to think carefully about the contexts they provide to enable candidates to develop the
required dispositions; (iii) the inclusion of “an underlying moral aspect” (p. 180) to dispositions; and (iv)
finally, and least common, a definition “that points to personality traits” (p. 180). However, none of the
seven institutions: … view dispositions as static traits, resistant to change. Because they all address the
development of dispositions at least to some extent, they acknowledge that dispositions 10 are
malleable, capable of being cultivated within a teacher education program dependent on the learning
opportunities that are provided. (p. 181) In the U.S., the much cited early work of Katz and Raths (1985)
conceptualised dispositions as an “ethos” or a way of being and living within a learning community. Katz
and Raths were more concerned with specific kinds of actions and their frequency rather than a set of
beliefs and attitudes. In terms of sector-wide practical efforts, the later 1992 INTASC set of model
 standards was based on the Alverno College ability-based conceptual framework (Diez, 1990). Diez’s
work with colleagues in the Alverno faculty was concerned with the “complex integration of skills,
behaviour, knowledge, values, attitudes, motives or dispositions and selfperceptions” (Diez & Murrell,
2010a, p. 2). Diez and Murrell propose that dispositions are one’s teaching stance, “a way of orienting
oneself to the work and responsibilities of teachers” (Diez & Murrell, 2010b, p. 9). In this framework
dispositions were seen as including sensitivity to learners as individuals, use of moral reasoning, and
sense of responsibility for meeting learning needs. Despite more than two decades of efforts to develop
shared understandings and terminology in the US, no common language currently exists that defines
dispositions in a universally understood way. The literature includes a wide range of terms such as
innate qualities, values, beliefs, ways of behaving, habits of mind, attitudes, and morals. There appear to
be three general categories for conceptualising and defining dispositions: belief statements; personality
traits or characteristics; and behaviours (Burant, Chubbuck & Whipp, 2007). Taylor and Wasicsko (2000)
define dispositions as the individual personal qualities or characteristics, such as attitudes, beliefs,
interests, appreciations, and values. Other researchers such as Schulte, Edick, Edwards and Mackiel
(2004) define dispositions as a frequently exhibited pattern of behaviour or habit of mind. Behavioural
scientists such as Damon (2007) view a disposition as a psychological construct where traits or
characteristics are embedded in individual temperament and dispose a person towards certain choices
or behaviours. Stooksberry, Schussler and Bercaw (2009) suggest that dispositions act like a teacher’s
internal filter or compass affecting the way he or she is inclined to act in teaching contexts. Sockett
(2009) proposes the idea of teacher dispositions as virtues attained as a result of “an individual’s
initiative, formed against obstacles and intrinsically motivated” (p. 292).

4 Benefits of an Active
Professional Learning
Community
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Jennifer Serviss
May 13, 2021
A professional learning community (PLC) is a team of educators who share ideas to enhance
their teaching practice and create a learning environment where all students can reach their
fullest potential. Most PLCs operate within a school building or across a district. They can be
organized by grade level, content area or an entire teaching staff.

Not every educator is sold on the idea of yet another meeting, but when done right, PLCs
reap huge benefits for both students and teachers. Here are four ways PLCs enhance
teaching and learning:

1. PLCs allow educators opportunities to

directly improve teaching and learning.
PLCs allow teachers an easy way to share best practices and brainstorm innovative ways to
improve learning and drive student achievement. Good communication is key so that
educators can share opinions and feel that what they are doing in the classroom matters.

These learning communities also enhance teacher reflection of instructional practices and
student outcomes. Meeting with your PLC gives you the ability to share student progress,
and when the data is shared across grade levels within the building, educators and
administrators take ownership of every child's education.

In online learning environments, it's especially important to create professional learning

communities to lighten the load. When collaborating with other educators, discuss ways to
share work to lighten the load and ensure you aren't duplicating work. 

2. PLCs build stronger relationships between

team members.
The very essence of a PLC is a focus on and a commitment to student learning. Meeting
weekly creates a bond and builds a team of leaders within the school or district that
eventually extends regionally and globally.

To build a strong team, it’s important to define roles and relationships of team members. This
starts from understanding everyone’s strengths within the department and throughout your
PLN. Enhancing the strengths of others builds trust and makes relationships come to
fruition.  

When mutual respect for each other’s opinions is developed within the team, all team
members become leaders within the group.
 

3. PLCs help teachers stay on top of new

research and emerging technology tools for
the classroom. 
Collaboration within a district and beyond is essential in order for educators to have ongoing
and regular opportunities to learn from each other. A global PLC allows teachers to share and
learn from each other daily. Twitter and other social media sites let teachers collaborate
worldwide and create a community of practice that far exceeds their classroom walls.

Within your district or school, you can use a variety of tools to set up communication
channels so you can share ideas and best practices or easily join text chats or video calls to
collaborate in the moment. 

This type of ongoing professional development informs teachers about new research and
emerging tools for the classroom, and it gives educators a look at what other schools, cities,
states and countries are doing in their schools. 

4. PLCs help teachers reflect on ideas. 

Learning from others in your PLC allows you to reflect on ways to enhance your teaching and
to adjust your practice. The more minds that come together from different backgrounds, the
more likely you are to add value and purpose to the field of education. 

When PLC’s come together, they must focus their efforts on questions related to learning
and create products with the end result of answering questions that lead to student
achievement. Student success must be the focus of PLC collaborations.
Strengthen Teacher Collaboration with an
Expanded PLC
January 30, 2020
by Trevor Nelson
According to a recent study, teachers spend only about 3% of their teaching day
collaborating with colleagues, and most American teachers plan, teach, and examine
their practice alone. One of the best ways for teachers to battle the all-too-common
feeling of isolation from peers is by breaking down the barriers to collaboration by
building or expanding your school’s professional learning community (PLC).
Historically, PLCs have been made up of teachers from the same school, but there’s
good news for those seeking to strengthen teacher collaboration with an expanded
PLC! An abundance of technology resources can bring teachers together to share ideas
and build virtual PLCs in new and exciting ways by breaking down typical barriers like
location, time zone, and even language. Now, PLCs can be made up of teachers from
outside districts or state, and even from teachers around the globe.

No matter whom you choose to include in your professional learning sphere, spend that
valuable time sharing, talking, and collaborating on educational projects and ideas.
Guidelines to consider when developing these communities include focusing on student
learning, using reflective dialogue, welcoming interaction among colleagues,
collaborating on projects, and establishing and maintaining shared values and norms.
Here are five ways to strengthen teacher collaboration with an
expanded PLC:

1. BE OPEN TO NEW IDEAS.

One of the biggest obstacles to connecting with other teachers is ensuring that
everyone is on the same page. All participants in a PLC should know what is expected
of them and what the goals of the association are, and also be made a valued part of
the team. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and experience levels and has
expertise in varying areas. This differentiation is what can strengthen the community,
but social allowances need to be made to ensure the open exchange of ideas. Make
boundaries to ensure the conversation is open and productive with a focus on learning
to better teacher practices to ensure students have a better learning experience.
2. LEVERAGE THE LARGER EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY.
Most American teachers are already members of the larger educational community but
may not be taking full advantage of that access. If you are a member of LinkedIn,
Facebook, or Twitter, there are groups already in place to help you find a group to
belong to. While site administrators can also create additional groups for the teachers at
their site to participate in and to create a sense of belonging, some of the best
community learning happens in less formally moderated environments. Twitter chats are
amazing ways to participate with world-class thought leaders and other teachers to
discuss issues related to teaching and learning on a regularly scheduled basis, so
check out these ten education Twitter chats to get started.

3. ATTEND A CONFERENCE OR TAKE AN ONLINE CLASS TOGETHER.

Chances are there are several conferences you might like to attend. Fortunately, school
districts, education companies, and organizations often have funding sources and
scholarships available to make that happen. Make the most of your time at
conferences by attending lots of sessions, but be sure to include time for networking
with other teachers, as networking is one of the most important advantages of attending
a conference. Visit the Edgenuity website if you’re interested in finding out when we’re
hosting events in your area to connect with other Edgenuity partners.
In addition to the traditional conference attendance, technology has enabled the
creation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) that offer certificates of completion,
and many providers partner with accredited universities and colleges to offer MOOC-
based degrees online.

4. SHARE WHAT WORKS AND GET FEEDBACK.

 Make time for journaling, reflecting, and chatting with colleagues to approach conscious
teaching and learning best practices. While it can be difficult to hear a critique of your
teaching or lessons, ultimately, this information can be very helpful to you and other
teachers. Even informal feedback shared during a lunch chat or after-school meet-up at
an off-site location can be beneficial. Actively schedule time to be in the same room as
other teachers to have shop talk, and take time for personal reflection and set goals to
improve.

5. USE TECHNOLOGY TO FACILITATE COLLABORATION.

There may already be technology in place in your district to help build your personal
learning community. Many email services and student information systems have a chat
feature, the ability to share documents, and even real-time virtual collaboration spaces
that can act as the gathering place for teachers separated by space. Use automation to
simplify this communication and be wary of adopting a different paradigm of
communication that becomes checking the “yet another inbox” problem.

Technology can bring teachers together virtually to share ideas and build PLCs. Take
the time to consider how you can strengthen teacher collaboration with an expanded
PLC, and empower yourself and colleagues to become better teachers as a result, and
make 2020 the year you expand your teaching community!

The 10 principles of effective PLCs

Found in all effective PLCs are 10 principles that bring together the best available
research on school improvement:

1. Student learning focus: School improvement starts with an unwavering focus on student

learning.
2. Collective responsibility: For every child to achieve, every adult must take responsibility for
their learning.
3. Instructional leadership: Effective school leaders focus on teaching and learning.
4. Collective efficacy: Teachers make better instructional decisions together.
5. Adult learning: Teachers learn best with others, on the job.
6. Privileged time: Effective schools provide time and forums for teacher conversations about
student learning.
7. Continuous improvement: Effective teams improve through recurring cycles of diagnosing
student learning needs, and planning, implementing and evaluating teaching responses to them.
8. Evidence driven: Effective professional learning and practice is evidence based and data driven.
9. System focus: The most effective school leaders contribute to the success of other schools.
10. Integrated regional support: Schools in improving systems are supported by teams of experts
who know the communities they work in.

The powerful collaboration that characterizes professional learning communities is

a systematic process in which teachers work together to analyze and improve their
classroom practice. Teachers work in teams, engaging in an ongoing cycle of questions that
promote deep team learning.

Within professional learning communities, a shared vision among the staff supports norms of
behavior and guides decisions about teaching and learning in the school. A fundamental
characteristic of the vision is an unwavering focus on student learning.

Defining a vision based on shared values is a crucial step that administrators must consider as they
lead their schools through reform efforts. This article reports findings from a national study of
creating professional learning communities in schools and how an organizational framework helped
to explain vision development in 18 schools. Recommendations for principals to provide support to
faculty members are offered.

The role of school leadership in

challenging times
August 2020
 Contents
 Introduction
 Leading through uncertainty
o Which leadership skills and approaches are effective?
o Recent literature on leading through complexity
 The 3Ts - A phased approach to leading through crisis
o Reflective questions to learn and grow as a leader
o Literature on learnings from a crisis
 Supporting wellbeing during a crisis
o Supporting the wellbeing of self and others
 Conclusion
 References

The key messages in this Spotlight reveal that in times of

crisis effective leaders:
 draw on a toolkit of skills and approaches, which are reactive and
proactive
 prioritise open communication
 proactively triage and manage threats to their community
 leverage expertise and experience from multiple stakeholders to facilitate
transition from a crisis
 work collaboratively to transform and build back better
 support the wellbeing of their school community (while maintaining their
own health and wellbeing)
Introduction
While significant, the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to be the last crisis we will face in
our lifetime, and it’s not the first time that school leaders have been called upon to lead
through times of ambiguity. Challenges faced by school leaders have ranged from
rebuilding after environmental disasters through to supporting communities through
economic, social and emotional devastation. During these times, school leaders have
provided clarity and direction, built resilience and instilled hope as they remained
focused on the best possible outcomes for their students and school communities.

So far in 2020 we have experienced bushfires, drought and COVID-19. In the midst of
this pandemic, there is evidence emerging across the globe of the critical role that
leadership plays in steering communities through the challenges we are all facing.

This Spotlight summarises the evidence base of leadership required during challenging

times, examines the practices of successful leadership through uncertainty and
highlights learnings from previous crises.

Leading through uncertainty

Leading through uncertainty can be daunting - there are no easy solutions, and often no
clear paths to follow. How do we lead when we can’t predict what’s going to happen
next? Uncertainty requires leaders to adapt quickly to a rapidly changing situation, and
to draw on different skills and types of leadership. When faced with uncertainty, school
leaders need to deal with the immediate, while remaining focused on the future, to
achieve the best possible teaching and learning environment, and outcomes for
students.

Some activities differentiate effective leaders from the rest of the crowd when faced with
adversity. What is required is a proactive, inclusive and transparent approach that does
not downplay information or delay a response (Kerrissey and Edmonson 2020).

Overcoming instincts to lead effectively through uncertainty

What’s instinctive when facing uncertainty What’s needed in a crisis

Waiting for additional information Acting with urgency

What’s instinctive when facing uncertainty What’s needed in a crisis

Downplaying the threat and withholding bad news Communicating with transparency

Doubling down to explain your actions more clearly Taking responsibility and focusing on solving problem

Staying the course Engaging in constant updating

Source: Kerrissey & Edmondson 13 April 2020, HBR

Which leadership skills and approaches are

effective?
Effective leaders, like effective teachers, adjust and draw on a range of skills and
approaches depending on the context. A typical school day requires leaders to move
from authority figure to teammate, to coach, to therapist, navigating through a range of
roles as each demand arises. An ability to shift and adjust leadership approaches based
on what is needed is key to being effective as a leader.

Leading through change requires a broad range of capabilities including non-

behavioural, non-practice-related components of leadership which influence the nature
of leadership behaviour and practices. In the Australian Professional Standard for
Principals, these are referred to as Leadership Requirements and influence the
effectiveness with which the Leadership Practices are enacted. These requirements
recognise the importance of skills which help leaders build relationships and deal with
ambiguity. Two overall messages stand out in the research into effective leadership in
times of uncertainty – having the right tools for the task and the importance of context.

1. The right tools for the task

 A common leadership analogy is that of an expert golfer who draws on a wide range of tools, in
the form of various woods, irons and putters, to best meet the conditions under which they are
playing. While an inexperienced or first-time golfer may pull out of their golf bag a club they’ve
used before, the skilled golfer will draw on their knowledge, skills and experience to choose the
best club for the situation (Goleman 2000). Leaders have various tools available. With practice,
leaders learn how to use each tool, and become aware of the best approach to draw on in a
particular situation. The more familiar leaders are with different approaches, styles and skills; the
more sophisticated they become in using them.

Adaptive leadership
Adaptive or complex challenges can be approached in multiple ways, often with multiple
solutions and usually require changes in numerous areas. Adaptive leadership requires
collaborative problem solving, continual learning and adaptation, the leveraging of multiple
perspectives and shared leadership responsibilities (Drago-Severson & Blum-DeStefano 2018).

Six key adaptive leadership practices

 Get a clearer view: Broaden one’s perspective to better understand the bigger picture and
accurately assess the situation.

 Identify the challenge: Identify the underlying adaptive challenges facing the

organisation.

 Regulate stress: Develop a holding environment where stakeholders feel safe to express

their opinions.

 Maintain disciplined attention: Stay focused on the task at hand.

 Give the work back to the people: Guide and empower teams to come up with creative
and innovative solutions.

 Protect leadership voices from below: Listen to all viewpoints, including those who
might ordinarily be overshadowed in the process (Heifetz & Laurie 2001).

2. Context matters
Every crisis is different – while some have acute effects, other crises may be experienced over a
longer period. Consistent across crises is the importance of context. The evidence base about
contextual influences on school leadership practices has expanded significantly in the last decade
and highlights the importance of being responsive to context.

The ways in which leaders apply…basic leadership practices – not the

practices themselves – demonstrate responsiveness to, rather than
dictation by, the contexts in which they work (Leithwood, Harris &
Hopkins 2020).
Effective school leaders understand and respond appropriately to the different contextual
demands that they face. Day, Gu and Sammons (2016) note that while practices of
transformational and instructional leadership are often dichotomised - successful leaders
combine practices in different ways across different phases of their school’s development.

Resource list
Recent literature on leading through complexity

A case for reimagining school leadership development to enhance collective efficacy.

Elliott & Hollingsworth 2020
This paper reviews the school leadership literature about the characteristics of effective school
leaders, and focuses on the Australian context, recognising that the work of school leaders is
increasing in complexity.
https://research.acer.edu.au/educational_leadership/5

A framework to guide an education response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reimers & Schleicher 2020
An OECD guide to support education decision making during a pandemic, based on a rapid
assessment of education needs and emerging responses in 98 countries.
https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/

School leadership: Using evidence to manage change in a pandemic.

Schoeffel & Ho 2020
Even under ‘normal’ circumstances, change is a difficult process to lead. How can schools
implement change effectively and efficiently in these times?
https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/school-leadership-using-evidence-to-manage-
change-in-a-pandemic

The 3Ts - A phased approach to leading

through crisis
A crisis is defined as a difficult or dangerous situation that requires immediate and decisive
action. Crises are not the normal recurring challenges that schools experience on a day-to-day
basis. Rather, crises are usually ‘confronting, intrusive and painful experiences’ (Smith & Riley
 2012, p. 53), at least for some members of the school community. Crises of one form or another
will inevitably occur in all schools, no matter how well the school is led.

There is no neat blueprint for leadership in such times, no pre-

determined roadmap, no simple leadership checklist of things to tick
off (Harris 2020).
The critical attributes of school leadership in times of crisis include:

 The ability to cope and thrive on ambiguity.

 Decisive decision making and an ability to respond flexibly and quickly and to change
direction rapidly if required.

 A strong capacity to think creatively and laterally and question events in new and
insightful ways.

 The tenacity and optimism to persevere when all seems to be lost.

 An ability to work with and through people to achieve critical outcomes, synthesising
information, empathising with others and remaining respectful.

 Strong communication and media skills (Smith & Riley 2012).

Lessons from other sectors suggest that breaking down the broader challenge into phases may
help leaders move forward without becoming overwhelmed by the scale of the problem.

In this way, the 3Ts is a framework that may be useful for

schools: Triage, Transition, Transform (Lenhoff et al. 2019). The 3Ts can be used to reflect on
a crisis situation, both during and after the event. This framework is not linear, for example,
while moving through a later phase (transform), leaders may also be helping others in an earlier
phase of the crisis (transition). The value of this model is to provide a lens for understanding the
types of challenges leaders may face at each phase of a crisis.

Reflective questions to learn and grow as a leader

These questions on Triage, Transition, Transform and Wellbeing can guide school leaders
and their leadership teams through the process of reflecting on a crisis response.

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 1. Triage
Triage refers to an initial sorting process on the basis of urgency. The task in the immediate onset
of a crisis is to separate the now from the later. At this stage, adrenaline is high, there are plenty
of practical things to take care of, and the leadership approach most likely to be selected from the
school leader’s toolkit is authoritative leadership. Taking decisive action, the focus is on safety
and wellbeing for everyone who is immediately affected. For school leaders this could mean
rapidly sharing up-to-date government advice to school communities and proactively
implementing changes in their schools.

Accounts from schools directly involved in the Canterbury earthquake in New Zealand, show
school leaders taking control while remaining focused on creating a calm atmosphere.

Leaders in schools and early childhood services became role models

for others. If the leaders stayed calm, then children, staff and parents
were more likely to remain safe and calm (Education Review Office
(ERO) 2013, p. 1).
While ensuring physical safety is the absolute first priority, psychological safety is also
important. People need to feel safe to ask questions, raise concerns, and propose ideas.
Transparency and open communication help build a better understanding of the full picture.

Transparency is ‘job one’ for leaders in a crisis. Be clear what you

know, what you don’t know, and what you are doing to learn more
(Edmonson 2020).
Transitioning from the triage stage, and carrying learnings forward, requires strong leadership. A
key consideration for education leaders at this point is how to ensure learning continuity.

2. Transition
Once lockdown or evacuation is over, and people’s basic physical and security needs have been
attended to, the leader’s focus is to increase stability, and reduce uncertainty for teachers, other
school staff, students and their families.

The phase of transition is about adopting new ways of working and being, be it for a short time
or a more extended period. After immediate responses to dangers or threats have been actioned,
communities are often adjusting to new approaches. This may involve a dispersed school
 community, or a move to relocatable buildings, as well as replacing lost materials. For example,
in the context of the current pandemic, this phase has involved a combination of remote learning
and a transition back to socially distanced classrooms.

A further example can be drawn from the school closures in Hong Kong during the protests in
2019. David Lovelin from Hong Kong International High School provided the following
leadership advice for managing such a crisis (Jacobs and Zmuda 2020):

 Establish a crisis management team.

 Use talent within your school community.

 Identify key common technology platforms for communication.

This advice, born out of this Principal’s experience, reinforces the evidence-base on effective
leadership through change, which emphasises the importance of teams and communication.

Mobilising teams and expertise

The complexity of the challenges leaders face demands solutions that

reach beyond one individual. Rather than looking to individuals to
solve problems, people increasingly recognise that effective solutions
come from networks and other collaborations (Jensen, Downing &
Clark 2017, p. 20).
Leading through complexity requires working together to draw on the collective wisdom of the
group to find solutions to the challenges presented. A collective approach to leadership is
essential for the sustainability and wellbeing of leaders, teachers, schools and the broader
education system. Distributed leadership is an approach that recognises multiple people influence
improvement in a school, including middle leaders (Harris & Spillane 2008). A growing body of
evidence on the power of shared leadership has found that it:
1. Creates a more democratic organisation.
2. Provides more significant opportunities for collective learning.
3. Provides opportunities for teacher development.
4. Increases the school’s capacity to respond intelligently to the many and complex
challenges it faces (Leithwood 2012).

Collective impact
 When working through complexity, leaders can mobilise their teams by setting clear priorities
for the response and empowering others to discover and implement solutions that serve those
priorities (D’Auria & De Smet 2020). This requires fostering collective and collaborative
leadership capacity and acknowledging the impact of the collective. Collective impact is
recognised in the area of social impact as a collaborative approach to addressing complex social
issues (Kania & Kramer 2011; Cabaj & Weaver 2016). There are five conditions that produce
alignment and move people from isolated agendas, measurements and activities to a collective
approach and impact:

 A common agenda.

 Shared measurement.

 Mutually reinforcing activities.

 Continuous communication.

 Backbone support.
Leadership in a crisis should be collaborative but should also look to be sensibly hierarchical.
There are times when school leaders need to wait and take advice from government, system-level
leaders and first responders. Within the school, a well-formed crisis management team brings a
cross-section of perspectives to a problem, and reduces the risk of missing certain voices.

Some in the school community have specific expertise and leadership responsibilities because of
their role. Staff with professional qualifications beyond education such as the school counsellor,
psychologist, nurse or chaplain, and information and resource specialists in the school’s library
have additional skills to contribute in such situations. Information technology staff become
heroes when remote schooling scenarios come into play, and cleaners and facilities staff bear the
brunt of restoring sites post-disaster. Supporting the supporters is a key element of a school’s
emergency management and recovery plan (Whitla 2003). Tapping into expertise and influencers
in the parent body, local personalities and networks can also support the school’s leadership
team.

Clear and open communication

Communication is vital. In the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquake, New Zealand leaders
highlighted their need for communications systems that operate when people have no access to
an office, school computer or power (ERO 2013). In an information age, the issue leaders face is
often not a lack of information, but an overwhelming amount. The apparent wealth of
communication channels can actually hinder free flow of vital information. In the same way we
look to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as our national emergency services broadcaster,
schools that establish a common, official communication channel, and ensure up front that
everyone in the school community can access this readily, are better equipped when the need
arises.
 Clear, simple and frequent communication is imperative to sharing up-to-date information and
maintaining open communication channels. In fact, school leaders, who are themselves a key
communication channel may benefit from media training (Smith & Riley 2012). Both verbal and
written communication are important. In a school context this includes newsletters, assemblies
and information sessions for lengthier communications, and the use of instant messaging
systems, quick pulse surveys, daily staff meetings or bulletins, and wellbeing check ins.

3. Transform
Rebuilding school communities after major disruption and trauma
requires a rethinking of social capital, resilience, of space, individuals’
roles and their contributions (Nye 2016, p. 88).
Leading the recovery of a school community after a crisis involves a delicate balancing act. Key
findings from the aftermath of crises such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the
Canterbury earthquake suggests that for schools, recovery may be less about minimising the loss
of student learning time and more about the role schools play in emotional and social recovery,
which can minimise longer term health concerns (Hattie 2020). During this phase the needs of
those impacted by the crisis must be sensitively balanced with the community’s (staff, students
and parents) desire to return as quickly as possible to business as usual routines.

Through this phase of transformation, schools may act as:

 community drop-in and re-bonding centres.

 pastoral care and agency hubs for staff, students, and families.

 frontline screening to identify community members experiencing severe effects.

 facilitators of appropriate recovery services (Mutch 2014).

Rebuilding during the transformation phase provides an opportunity for leaders to adapt “flexibly
and strategically to changes in the environment, in order to secure the ongoing improvement of
the school” (Professional Practice: Leading improvement, innovation and change, AITSL
2014, p. 17). In this phase, schools have a chance to refocus, re-energise and try new ideas
(Smith & Riley 2012, p. 64). This involves learning and growing from the experience, and
possibly experimenting with a new vision, values and culture. In this way, the recovery period
can become an opportunity for transformation – to ‘build back better’ (BBB) by integrating
disaster reduction and management strategies into the ‘restoration’ and ‘revitalisation’ of systems
and communities to build resilience for future crises (Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and
Recovery n.d.; United Nations General Assembly 2016). For example, the current COVID-19
pandemic demonstrates that rebuilding is not only about physical infrastructure, but about the
health, safety and wellbeing of individuals and school communities.
Determining what has worked and what hasn’t and deciding what to cut, keep or further develop
are key considerations to support learning and growth following a crisis. That is, the period of
transformation is also about retaining any successful new practice that emerged during the crisis,
to build the ‘new normal.’ An important role for school leaders in this process is to broker
agreement on what ‘building back better’ or the ‘new normal’ should look like, ensuring it
centres on the needs of students (Mutch 2014). Taking the time to reflect and learn from a critical
incident is, therefore, an valuable exercise, both in terms of ensuring the school leader’s voice is
part of the review that will inevitably follow a crisis or incident, and as an optimal time to revisit
a school’s disaster/crisis policies (Myors 2013).

Resource List
Literature on learnings from a crisis

Riding the wave: An exploration of principals’ experiences leading their schools through and
beyond critical incidents.
Myors 2013
Research based on school leaders’ responses to the question: What was your experience as you
led your school during and after a critical incident?
https://doi.org/10.4226/66/5a963327c68af

Schools as Communities and for Communities: Learning From the 2010–2011 New Zealand
Earthquakes.
Mutch 2016
This study of school leaders following the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes provides the
opportunity to reflect on their role in crisis contexts. It considers physical, social, emotional,
psychological needs of staff, students and families.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1104398.pdf

Crisis management and the school community.

Whitla 2003
This book offers practical response and recovery procedures for school leaders dealing with
emergencies, both within the school and in the larger community. It combines theory and
practice and provides guidelines for managing response and recovery procedures; understanding
the grieving process; developing people management and leadership skills; communicating
appropriately; including staff and students in the recovery process; and coping better with future
crises.

Supporting wellbeing during a crisis

The wellbeing of school leaders themselves, their teaching staff as well as students and
communities is critical across all phases of a crisis. Wellbeing encompasses physical, mental and
social health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as a, “state of
wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal
stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or
his community” (WHO 2020). Wellbeing is central to workforce productivity and an important
precondition of effective teaching and learning. Effective leaders know that circumstances call
upon them to provide a holding environment where people feel safe and to provide them with
some sense of certainty during uncertainty. There is a growing evidence base of actions that help
to take care of yourself and others through challenging times.

Taking care of yourself

There’s a reason why the crew on a plane will ask you to fit your own mask before attending to
others. To take care of others, it’s important to expend energy inwards as well. Engaging in
practices that give you energy, lower your stress and contribute to your wellbeing is crucial to
taking care of yourself.

Evidence indicates that successful wellbeing interventions include:

 Reflection strategies for insight into professional practice.

 Mindfulness training to manage stress.

 Emotional management strategies.

 Growth mindset approaches to solving problems.

 Self-care practices to restore when needed.

 Celebrate achievements and success to feel valued (McCallum et al. 2017).

While it can be difficult to look after yourself when faced with adversity and you are busy
looking after others some methods include being kind to yourself, providing some time to pause,
acknowledging your own feelings and stress and that it’s okay and acceptable to reach out to
others for support.

Staying connected
A sense of connectedness and belonging is key to wellbeing. School leaders play a critical role in
building a positive learning environment where the whole school community feels included,
connected, safe and respected (Australian Student Wellbeing Framework 2018). Communicating
early and often during a crisis can help alleviate concern, provide opportunities for people to be
heard and mitigate the potential effects of isolation and distance.

The importance of students feeling connected to others and experiencing safe and trusting
relationships is critical to their wellbeing. School connectedness is a significant protective factor
for wellbeing and has been associated with positive mental health and academic outcomes
(Cahill, Beadle, Farrelly, Forester & Smith 2014). Adopting a resilience mindset is important to
promoting wellbeing during uncertainty. Key predictors of wellbeing and resilience are centred
around feeling Connected, Protected and Respected or ‘CPR’ (Fuller & Wicking 2017).
This can be fostered by reaching out to people, asking if they are okay (connected), providing
safe places to discuss ideas and feelings (protected) and acknowledging that people react and
cope differently (respected).

Effective leaders work with their staff so that the school has an understanding of what trauma is
and how to recognise possible signs of it. This is key to continual wellbeing and supporting
others through a crisis. Resources on managing wellbeing through uncertainty and trauma
informed practice in schools are important (Griffiths, Stevens & Treleaven 2020; Whitla 2003).

Relationships are key during a crisis and afford opportunities for tighter bonds between schools,
parents, carers and communities. Through open communication, transparency and working
together the current pandemic has provided opportunities for greater parent and carer
understanding and empathy for the work of teachers and schools and vice versa and presented an
opportunity to consolidate, and even strengthen communication strategies and structures.

Resource list
Supporting the wellbeing of self and others

Trauma-informed practice in schools: An explainer

This brief introduction summarises the evidence on trauma-informed practice within an
educational context.
https://www.cese.nsw.gov.au//images/stories/PDF/trauma-informed-practice.pdf

Australian Students Wellbeing Framework

The Framework site contains video resources for school leaders.
https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/educators/framework

Greater Good Science Centre

This online resource has a range of evidence-based tips, tools and resources to support social and
emotional wellbeing.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu
Be You National Mental Health Initiative
Provides educators with knowledge, resources and strategies for helping children and young
people achieve their best possible mental health.
https://beyou.edu.au

Reachout
ReachOut is a source of online mental health resources. The schools’ section of the site provides
resources and outlines barriers to students’ help seeking.
https://schools.au.reachout.com

Conclusion
As a critical incident is occurring there is often little or no time for school leaders to seek out the
evidence on best approaches to addressing specific situations. The three stages of triage,
transition and transform provide a useful framework for assisting school leaders to understand
the particular challenges they may face during each phase of a crisis and offers opportunities for
reflection. It is also critical to consider the health and wellbeing of both self and others at each
phase of a crisis.

Leading through uncertainty requires leadership that is flexible and can adapt to changing
circumstances. It also requires collaboration, teamwork and the mobilisation of a diverse range
of skills from the broader school community to collectively meet challenges. Extraordinary times
present many challenges, but they also afford opportunities for learning and growth.

Principals of the Pandemic:

How school leadership is
changing
by Brett Henebery 17 Aug 2020
SHARE
In a time of crisis, leaders are the ones we depend on to calm our nerves and
forge the path ahead, even if that path requires great toil and sacrifice. 
Despite the overwhelming pressures they face in their own roles, principals
have demonstrated, selflessly and solidly, that their communities can depend
on them.

As school leaders continue to pull out all the stops to lead, and safeguard,
their schools during the most significant upheaval to education in living
memory, evidence across the globe is emerging of the critical role that
leadership plays in steering communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) recently

released a major report summarising the evidence base of leadership required
during this difficult and challenging time.

Spotlight: ‘The role of school leadership in challenging times’ report examines

the practices of successful leadership through uncertainty and highlights
learnings from previous crises.

AITSL CEO, Mark Grant, said teachers and school leaders across Australia
should be congratulated for the tremendous job they’ve done rising to the
challenges that the bushfires, drought and pandemic have presented to their
schools.

“Through a number of crises this year you have demonstrated that you are
resilient and able to adapt quickly to the challenges you, and your broader
communities, face and continue to face,” Grant told The Educator.

“It is not easy, and it has been humbling to see how the whole Australian
education system has adapted, and in many places, transformed in response
to such challenging times”.

Grant said many students, parents and elected officials have commented
positively on this, recognising the significant role that teachers and principals
have and continue to play during the COVID-19 crisis.

“We see our role of supporting teachers and school leaders as core to our
purpose; this is true now more than ever,” he said.

“The evidence-based resources we provide through our ongoing Australian

Teacher Response campaign, focus on helping teachers and school leaders
navigate through times of uncertainty”.
The campaign includes the AITSL Teacher Hub with nearly 200 new and
curated resources, and Facebook group with over 4,500 teachers sharing
ideas and supporting each other.

Grant said the recently launched AITSL report forms part of this campaign.

“The Spotlight highlights what the evidence says about how effective leaders
operate in times of crisis,” he said.

“It looks at how they prioritise open communication, how they proactively
triage and manage threats to their community, and how they leverage
expertise and experience from multiple sources to facilitate transition from a
crisis; and importantly, how they support the wellbeing of their school
community while maintaining their own health and wellbeing”.

The ‘three T’s’ a useful framework for leaders

The Spotlight report pointed to evidence showing that the ‘triage, transition
and transform’ process provide a useful framework for helping principals
understand and respond to the challenges they face.

“The 3T’s approach – triage, transition and transform – is a useful approach to

reflect on during and after a crisis event. This framework is not linear but
provides a way of thinking through a crisis and providing structure for how to
respond,” Grant said.

“For example, while moving through a later phase (transform), leaders may
also be helping others in an earlier phase of the crisis (transition)”.

Grant said the value of this model is that it provides a framework for
understanding the types of challenges leaders may face at each phase of a
crisis.

“We all know that managing a crisis is not easy,” he said.

“All leaders, whether in business, government or in this case schools, have
had to think fast and effectively as we adapt and bring our various teams
through this incredibly challenging time”.

‘Open, honest communication is critical’

The report highlighted some successful wellbeing interventions, such as

mindfulness training to manage stress and emotional management strategies.

Grant said the COVID-19 crisis has shown the “absolutely critical” need to
ensure that there are honest and open communications in place between
principals and their staff, between principals and their community and
between principals and their students.

“As the Spotlight points out: clear, simple and frequent communication is
imperative to sharing up-to-date information and maintaining open
communication channels,” he said.

“A simple but greatly appreciated example has been the use of video
conferencing for parent/teacher meeting purposes, saving time while still
enabling that critical communication to occur”.

Grant said that in his experience, principals and schools that had already
developed and practiced a crisis plan would have been in a better place to
respond than those that had to make the time to put one in place.

“The year 2020 has been a reminder that having a crisis plan in place, being
clear in your communications, and taking your team and your community with
you pays dividends when the unthinkable happens,” he said.

“I have no doubt that many people, in all kinds on industries, will review what
happened in 2020 to make sure they can continue to adapt to whatever
comes their way”.
 Effective communications
This guide contains suggestions for managing the myriad of everyday communications you are involved in as a principal.

 Leader's role
 Communication planning
 In-school communication
 Community communication
 Communication methods
 Principals' views on their communication
 Further information

Leader's role
Managing communications effectively is a key dimension of leadership.
This is stressed in Kiwi Leadership for Principals (Ministry of Education)
and in Tātaiako: Cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners
(Education Council). The cultural competencies of Wānanga and
Whanaungatanga contain useful behavioural indicators and outcomes
specific to leaders that can be applied in all situations. 
Effective communication underpins the knowledge, skills and
dispositions principals require to have a direct and indirect influence on
student outcomes, as identified in the Best Evidence Synthesis on
leadership.
Taking time to review your communications strategy and ideas will be
time well spent. Many problems, in and out of schools, can be directly
traced to the effectiveness of your and your school's communications –
whether information was communicated or not, what was
communicated, how it was communicated, and who communicated it.
Taking time to think about what you want to say will also ensure you
maintain your integrity and professionalism, that of your school, and of
the wider educational community.

Communication planning
Principals apply a range of formal and informal communication skills
every day. Communications may be deliberately planned or ad hoc;
face to face or virtual; written, video or verbal; digital or non-digital.
Use a table like the one below to help you get an overview of your
communications:
Why
Who? ? How?
 Students    
Leadership team    
Teachers    
Parents, whānau – current and   Facebook, LMS, newsletters, face to face,
prospective presentations, phone, special evetns, learning
conferences, parent teacher evenings
Support staff: office staff, learning    
assistants, executive officer,
caretakers
Local iwi and hapū    
Board chair    
Board members    
Local principals, other schools,    
mentor or supervisor
Outside agencies – for example    
Ministry of Education 
Parent Teacher Association, alumni    
association
Media    
Other    

Then consider how effective your existing communication strategies

are:
 What are your key reasons for communicating with your audiences? What are your key messages?

 Are your reasons for communicating helping you lead change or lead learning in your school?

 How do you ensure your key messages are communicated clearly and consistently?

 How does the way you are communicating help you to build trusting and respectful relationships with your audiences?

 How do your communication strategies change over time? Are there two or three aspects of communication that you should
emphasise during the next year?

 When did you last review your strategies? What feedback on them do you have or need? 

It may be useful for the board to have a policy or a practice on who

communicates formally on behalf of the school, for example if
contacted by the media.
It is essential to understand the requirements of New Zealand's
privacy and copyright laws.
Copyright in schools – TKI website

In-school communication
Internal communication is just as important as communicating outside
the school. Elements of good practice for internal communication
include:
 championing and being a good role model for clear and consistent communication

 matching your words to your actions – this is part of developing integrity as a leader

 being committed to open, two-way communication

 face-to-face communication

 communicating with empathy – communicating bad news as effectively as good news

 seeing communication as an essential leadership capability, not as a set of techniques.

Things to try to improve your communication

External feedback
Consider using an interviewer from outside the school, such as your
mentor or principal’s appraiser, to carry out a fact-finding review. The
interviewer needs to be someone you can rely on to give you honest
and constructive feedback. 
Prepare yourself to handle any criticism that may be brought up. Try
to view any criticisms as constructive. When you establish that you
appreciate feedback and actively take it on board, people will keep you
well informed.
You might ask an interviewer to:
 ask what the two or three most important school development actions and intentions you have been communicating to staff
are.

 ask a range of staff what they think you have been communicating about, and your effectiveness in communicating about
those topics. The interviewer simply takes notes and does not comment on the descriptions, apart from seeking clarity. Four or five staff
from a range of contexts is plenty; in a small school, may be one or two at most.

 interview five or six students across a range of year levels. Ask each to describe what you have been communicating. This
may be best done in small groups to assist the flow of description and to bring out the range of views.

 write up what has been discovered and report back to you on the style and effectiveness of your communication.

You may be able to identify gaps and issues with the interviewer.
Check whether the choices you've made about the methods you're
using are the best ones to focus on.
After getting this snapshot of your communication, use it to help shape
new communications. Include this review and your reflections as part
of your appraisal.

Internal feedback
Ask a trusted and experienced colleague to provide honest and
constructive feedback on any presentations you make. Ask for
feedback on a few specific aspects, such as the clarity of your
 message, quality of your message, audience response, and
presentation style. Or ask for feedback on one thing you did well and
one thing you could improve on or do differently next time. 
Use this feedback strategy several times a year and remember that
this evidence of professional growth and reflection can also feed into
your appraisal.

Visiting staff workspaces

By recognising the individual natures and circumstances of staff
members principals strengthen trust and connectedness across the
staff as a whole. (KLP, p. 23 )
In any good communication, it is important to establish trust and
confidence, without which your message may be lost, misconstrued or,
worse, ignored.
Build understanding and rapport with staff by meeting with them in
their own workspaces from time to time. Staff talking in their own
workspaces will be able to put their views across more clearly in
context, and are more likely to tell you the reality of what is going on
more quickly. Consider informal walks through classrooms; or going
along to faculty meetings in an informal capacity.
Conversely, reprimand, criticism, or any disciplinary communication
should take place in your office, where you set the stage and the level
of formality you want. Remember praise in public, correct in private.

Listening
Effective communication is a two-way process. Bear in mind that you
will learn more when you are listening than when you are speaking,
and that people will not open up to those they consider poor listeners.
Consider:
 focussing on the moment and the person speaking – adopting a listening attitude

 avoiding distractions, for example move away from your computer and put away your phone

 asking questions instead of just giving answers

 giving your full attention to what the other party is saying – not just thinking about what you want to say next

 focusing on what you might learn instead of what you want to teach or instruct

 asking how you might help

 seeking clarification and explanation, especially when the tone of the speaker is somewhat critical
 restating what you think they have said in order to seek clarity and agreement

 checking whose voices are missing or underrepresented.

Adopt a listening approach for:

 'sounds' of learning at your school, such as evidence of curiosity, inquiry, earnest endeavour, shared thinking and
collaboration, and teacher facilitation

 'sounds' of teachers’ shared approach to teaching, such as team teaching, collaborative planning, questioning, and supporting.

Adopt an analytical ear for the sounds:

 you want to hear that are absent

 you hear, but would prefer not to hear.

Add all these sounds to your knowledge bank about the school and use
them at appropriate times to make progress on development.

Community communication
Begin with the end in mind. Remember that principals strengthen
partnerships and networks to enhance student learning.
Extend your knowledge so that you become an expert on your school
community. Share so that education becomes everyone’s business.
Have a broad and simple community communication goal that is
appropriate to your school’s setting. For example:
 a new principal in a small rural school may decide to 'develop and maintain strong interactive communication patterns with
each family about their children’s education'.

 a new principal in a large urban school may decide that 'during the first year, my communications within and across the school
community will help me gain a clear understanding of how things are done around here'.

Check that you are listening and communicating with all of your school
community: students, staff, whānau, iwi and hapū, and the local
community. Go to them as well as finding ways to make them feel
welcome at school.

Communication methods
Personal

Your mood, actions, and demeanour

Your body language, moods, and actions convey powerful messages.
 Confidence in what you are saying and doing is essential. Studies suggest that if you appear confident, others are more likely
to agree to what you might propose. Conversely, the less confident you appear in your own message, the more objections you are likely
to meet.
 Failure to complete or carry out a routine task suggests the routine is not important. Similarly, failure to follow through on a
goal or promise will undermine your credibility. Ensure the link between what you say and what you do remains close. If a disparity
develops between them for any reason, explain why.

 Remaining approachable while being regarded and consulted as a professional leader with significant knowledge about
teaching and learning requires principals to maintain a cheerful demeanour even if the going is tough. The grumpiness of a principal can
quickly pervade their school.

 Remember that you are now a public figure and subject to much more scrutiny than you were as a teacher. Be clear, consistent
and transparent so that all members of the community know that what they see is what they get. Enjoy answering questions and
discussing the school vision and goals, and listen attentively to all community members.

Phone calls and emails

Treat calls and emails as an important part of the job. These are often
the first experience people have of your school.
 Have an enthusiastic phone voice and manner, even on the worst day.

 Clearly identify yourself.

 Use the email subject line to your advantage, that is, as a short summary.

 Put aside time to answer phone calls and emails. This helps you with time management. Perhaps publicise the best time to ring
in newsletters.

 Answer phone messages and emails within 24 hours if possible but don't rush answers that you need longer to think about.

 Try for a balance of five calls home to praise students for every one that is critical.

 Check that the school's answerphone messages, hold music and so on, are compatible with school goals and context. Make
them warm, welcoming, and inclusive.  

Face-to-face communication
 Always listen carefully. Try not to interrupt – think about how much you would dislike it yourself.

 Appreciate critics and thank them.

 Treat each conversation as being crucial.

 Ensure your agendas are applied; take advantage of face-to-face meetings to initiate new discussion about things of
importance to you and your school.

 Make notes. In particular, record agreed times and dates. Tell the person you are talking to what you are recording. Put follow-
uo actions in your calendar.

 Work on reducing your use of conversation dead-air fillers like ‘um’ and ‘er’, as well as cliches and phrases such as ‘you
know’, ‘basically’, ‘to be honest’, ‘at the end of the day’, ‘the fact of the matter is’, ‘sort of thing’, and so on.

 Difficult conversations with adults will occur. Don't become defensive – breathe and count to 10.

Communication channels

Internet presence
What's your school's digital footprint like? You and the board of
trustees have ultimate responsibility for it. 
 Decide whether you need closed or public access channels and for whom.
 Choose platforms that are easy to use, for your school and for the audience(s).

 Be clear, concise, professional and safe in your content, for example do not post images of children without parental
permission.

 Check content enhances your school's key messages, values and beliefs.

 Have protocols in place to manage the content.

 Have more than one person responsible for producing content, moderating content and monitoring for inappropriate responses.

School events
Treat all events as great communication opportunities.
 Make events as culturally reflective and responsible as possible.

 Personally meet and greet as many parents and community members as possible.

 Try not to speak for too long. Keep the focus on student achievement and your school’s current goals. Make it clear what the
school’s core business is.

 Ensure students feel included and rewarded for their effort and achievement.

 Thank and acknowledge parents and whānau for their support in the learning of their children and for the school.

Newsletters
Newsletters may be digital or paper. Find out how parents, whānau
and the local community wish to receive news about the school and its
events. Offer a range of options.
School community newsletters should provide the means to inform,
promote, gather, and educate. Decide on how you want the balance of
these four tasks to work in each newsletter.
To get your intended audience to read your news, it’s best to make it
brief, to the point, and customised. Take into account the amount of
information people are dealing with today. People have become very
discerning information consumers.
 Ensure the newsletter provides the means to convey important messages about your school’s vision, values, strategies and
plans.

 Align the messages to support your key leadership activities: leading change, leading learning and problem solving.

 Establish and stick to a regular publication timetable.

 Use a template for easy preparation of each edition.

 Enlist others as reporters to gather copy, for example students and staff.

 Quality is important, but stick to the budget. Establish the highest standards for accuracy of detail and grammar. Have a
neutral proofreader.

 Make sure the school has parental permission to use any photos of students included.

 Set aside a specific time to do your part of the newsletter, preferably several days before publication is due.
 Make sure digital newsletters are easy to read online or to download and open.

Remember you have overall responsibility for your newsletters. You

must have the final say on what is included and how it is said. 

Principals' views on their communication

Ash Maindonald – Principal

Communication is clearly a key. I tried a couple of things at my previous school that seemed to make a difference.

I visited all the classrooms and asked the children:

What do you love about our school?

What could make it cooler?

What do you expect of me?

What can I expect from you?

What ideas do you have to help us build a family here?

With staff, I prepared a one hour My Education Life Journey presentation. I covered who I was and why, what I believed in, how I saw

my role, the mistakes I'd made, and the joys and successes. I was very open, honest, and spoke totally from the heart. They understood

what they were to me, what they were to the children and community, and what the possibilities were for our journey forward together.

I published a pretty awesome newsletter, lots of highest-possible quality photos of kids and lots of different ways of getting our core

messages and beliefs through to families. It went out every week – sometimes even twice a week.

The three focuses for our newsletter were to inform, to challenge, and to celebrate:

Inform – to keep you in touch with upcoming events, news, and information.

Challenge – we want to produce a new generation of thinkers. We will be teaching children structured and systematic approaches to

thinking and providing lots of opportunities to use these skills. Look out for plenty of brain challenges in our newsletter.

Celebrate – our most precious resource is our people. We want to take every opportunity to share with you the wonderful learning

experiences that happen here each week.

The quality of our newsletter was very important to us. 

Board meetings featured slideshows of the school in action.

We welcomed and encouraged parents to come to our weekly whānau time – school assembly. The purpose of whānau time was

regularly shared: to share family time together; to celebrate the cool and clever things our family members had achieved; to learn more

about our family and ways we could be a better family than before.

Building relationships with parents

A principal has offered these comments about the importance of relationship building:

I have found that establishing relationships with each parent who has a child at the school to be quite beneficial. I always use the

common ground that we, parents and teachers, have the best interests of the child at heart. This has always been a great starting point.

Initially, the process used to be quite time-consuming. I try to make time for every parent, whether it is 5 or 10 minutes. I have found that

it makes a huge difference for our parents that they are acknowledged.

Even parents of children who regularly find themselves in some form of strife at school value this open relationship with the school.

They have said that they prefer being kept in the loop, even during the tougher times for their children. As a result, I know that they are

just a phone call away, and are always willing to support their child, or other school initiatives.

Term gatherings help. Sometimes it is just a simple morning tea to say thanks. At other times it is a whole school hangi. Turnout at our

last parent–teacher–student interview was in excess of 90 per cent. Parents want to make time for their children. I have told them that one

way to do so is to come and listen to their child report back on progress / student achievement at the p-t-s interview.

I think back to a few years ago ... things were a lot different. It was difficult to get most parents through the school gate. How things

change! I put it largely down to relationship building.

Introduction

Earlier this year, COVID19 slammed the door firmly shut on all aspects of
everyday life. It interrupted international travel, it devastated economic growth,
and it disrupted schooling globally. In just a few short months COVID 19 has
been a ‘supernova’ (Azorín 2020) creating ‘undeniable chaos’ (Hargreaves and
Fullan 2020) and shaking the very fabric of education. It has redefined learning
as a remote, screen-based activity limiting most learners to on-line teacher
support. According to UNESCO, 1.6 billion young people have been out of school
during this crisis and as Zhao (2020) points out, ‘virtually all schools have been
paused’ and teaching has been significantly re-organised.

In most countries, getting children back to into school has been an ongoing issue
and a major flashpoint for heated debate. Schools that have re-opened have
faced the considerable challenges of social distancing, intensive cleaning, and
the careful orchestration of all movement around the school. Those schools that
are about to open are caught in the media spotlight of whether it is safe or
sensible to do so.1 The discourse around the re-opening,2 or indeed, the closing
of schools3 is fraught, divisive, and largely inconclusive.

We do not know, long term, what the impact, effects and consequences of
opening schools in the current pandemic might prove to be, but it is clear that the
mental health of young people4 who feel trapped or isolated at home is very real
issue and has the potential to become a greater problem than the virus itself. In
this time of turmoil where quick solutions are required in a fast-changing world,
the priority must be the well-being of leaders, teachers, learners, parents, and all
stakeholders involved in the reopening of school life.

Yet in many respects, COVID 19 has exacerbated well-being issues and

highlighted how education inequity profoundly affects those in society who have
the least. For example, in the USA it has been noted that –

The pandemic has highlighted disparities in access to digital devices and the
internet. When schools were closed, 15 percent of U.S. households and 35
percent of low-income households with school-age children did not have a high-
speed internet connection at home. In early April, nearly 2/3 of leaders in high-
poverty districts reported that a lack of basic technology was a ‘major’ problem.
(Darling Hammond 20205)
Similarly in the UK, COVID19 has revealed a stark digital divide with 1.9 million
households6 having no access to the internet and tens of millions reliant on pay-
as-you-go services to make phone calls or access healthcare, education and
benefits online.

A World Bank report suggests that COVID 19 is likely to cause the first increase
in global poverty since 1998. Estimates suggest that COVID 19 will push 49
million people into extreme poverty in 2020.7 The impact on young people will be
immeasurable, far reaching, devastating and potentially irreversible.

School leadership
 For school leaders working in these demanding and chaotic circumstances, the
pressure is relentless, the options are limited, the sleepless night are frequent.
The staff meetings, coffee catch ups and corridor chats with colleagues, that
made up a school day, have gone. All those informal, important, moments where
social relationships are built, and leadership is enacted simply vanished
overnight. Parents, students, and teachers now exist in a twilight education world
either awaiting the return of normal service or hoping for some new normal that
might offer stability, continuity, and reassurance. The stark reality is that neither
is likely to occur anytime soon.

Meanwhile, school leaders are caught in the unfavourable position of being the
pinch point in the system. They are reliant on guidance about COVID-19
responses, processes, procedures, and protocols from above. These can
change, almost overnight, depending on how the virus develops. Simultaneously,
school leaders are dealing with fluid and changing staffing situations meaning
they are having to do much more with less. The social distancing of staff and
students means extra work and extra pressure on those staff who can return to
work. Every expectation either from above or below asks more of school leaders
professionally and personally.

This is a perfect storm with imperfect leadership responses. As Netolicky (2020)

notes: ‘In a time of crisis, leaders must act swiftly and with foresight but also with
careful consideration of options, consequences and side effects of actions taken’.
This is certainly true, but no one can predict what might be the best solutions, the
best actions, the side effects of any actions taken in this crisis. School leaders
are walking a tightrope without a safety net. There are no precedents and no
guides to leading schools in a pandemic.

There has been some early research, of course into the effects and impact of
COVID 19 on all sectors of education. This work has helped to set down useful
markers and some preliminary reference points. Aiming to capture the
dimensions of such a colossal moving target, however, will require far more
sophisticated research methodologies in the future, if the work is to move to more
valid and generalisable findings (Fetters and Molina-Azorin 2020).

Despite a current lack of research on how school leaders are responding to the
pandemic, there are some emerging insights about leadership within the
COVID19 educational landscape. The following seven propositions are offered
for consideration and possibly, in due course, empirical attention.

1. School leadership practices have changed considerably and maybe,

irreversibly because of COVID19. As a result of the pandemic, school
leadership has shifted on its axis and is unlikely return to ‘normal’ anytime
soon, if ever at all. Research underlines that the principles of good
 leadership are a constant i.e. having a clear vision, developing others,
managing people, building capacity etc. (Leithwood, Harris, and
Hopkins 2020). The evidence also points towards the importance of context
responsive leadership implying a shift in school leadership practices because
of COVID19 (Harris 2020).

2. Most school leadership preparation and training programmes prior to

COVID19 are likely to be out of step with the challenges facing school
leaders today. In many cases, the existing preparation and training
programmes, along with the models of leadership they espouse, will require
a radical re-think and significant modification to remain relevant for aspiring
and practising school leaders. It would be a mistake to simply re-configure or
re-badge what was relevant before COVID19, as much of this training and
development may no longer fit for purpose. New programmes will be
required that fully and adequately encompass the leadership skills, practices
and actions suited to the current, and potentially ongoing, COVID19
situation.

3. Self-care and consideration must be the main priority and prime concern
for all school leaders. Leading a school through the changes and challenges
that accompany COVID19 and post COVID19 will require school leaders
who put their own health and wellbeing first, so that they will be able to help
others. Increasingly, school leaders are managing the emotional responses
of others to this crisis including anxiety, frustration loss, and anger.
Consequently, self-care must be a priority for those leading schools at all
levels.

4. The phrase ‘connect to learn, learn to connect’ (Harris and Jones 2012)

describes the daily reality of students and teachers trying to work together in
this pandemic. Hence, moving forward, school leaders will increasingly need
to be technologically savvy and well informed. COVID19 has generated huge
commercial opportunism with a pressure to buy technological solutions to
contemporary problems. School leaders will need to be discerning therefore,
about the digital products they choose and to be careful about striking
a balance between technology and pedagogy in their school (Hargreaves
20208). Ultimately, pedagogy is the key to effective learning and while
technology has a part to play, it is the human dimension of effective teaching
that makes the difference.

5. Crisis and change management are now essential skills of a school

leader. Running an effective school in disruptive times will require more than
routine problem solving or occasional firefighting. Instead all school leaders
will need to be engaged in constant crisis and change management which
will require support and collaboration from all staff. The speed of change in
 this pandemic is unprecedented, hence a high degree of trust will be needed,
as the collective glue, to ensure that issues are addressed collectively as
they arise.

6. Communities are a key resource for school leaders, as they host a

wealth of additional expertise, knowledge, and local capacity. Forging
stronger links with parent/community groups to support families, young
people and children is now a necessity to deal with the many issues that
COVID19 has generated particularly for vulnerable, marginalised, or isolated
young people.

7. Distributed leadership has become the default leadership response in

this current crisis requiring more school leaders, at all levels, to connect,
share, learn and network their way through issues (Azorín, Harris, and
Jones 2020). Through absolute necessity, rather than by design, effective
school leadership is now connected, collaborative, creative and responsive.
Most school leaders will be running on empty given the myriad of challenges
that COVID19 has created for them, so distributed leadership is a necessity
to survive.

Final comment

A new chapter is being written about school leadership in disruptive times that
will possibly overtake and overshadow all that was written before on the topic. In
a different time, in a different context, school leadership operated within known
parameters, with clear patterns and rhythms to a school year, with set terms and
set holidays, with clear lines of accountability and rules governing most things
including examinations, INSET days and even snow days. COVID19 has
changed all that and unpredictability and uncertainty are now the watchwords of
all those leading schools.

A new leadership order has emerged which has no leadership standards, no

preparation or development programmes, no inspection framework, no KPIs, no
benchmarks. There are no precedents, no ring-binders, no blueprints to help
school leaders through the current maelstrom that is COVID19.

In such disruptive times, school leaders cannot emulate the leadership practices
they witnessed or enjoyed in a period of stability, continuity, and relative calm.
Leading in disruptive times means being able to navigate a different course, to
create new pathways through the disruption. School leaders on this journey are
defined by their determination, their hope, and their unshakable belief that
whatever happens, whatever the cost, whatever the scale of the challenge, they
will continue to do everything in their power to safeguard the learning of all young
people.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly across the globe, many

schools struggled to react both quickly and adequately. Schools were
one of the most important societal institutions to be affected by the
pandemic. However, most school leaders have little to no training in
crisis leadership, nor have they dealt with a crisis of this scale and this
scope for this long. This article presents our findings from interviews
of 43 school organizations around the globe about their responses
during the early months of the pandemic. Primary themes from the
interviews included an emphasis on vision and values; communication
and family community engagement; staff care, instructional
leadership, and organizational capacity-building; equity-oriented
leadership practices; and recognition of potential future opportunities.
These findings resonate with the larger research literature on crisis
leadership and have important implications for school leaders’ future
mindsets, behaviors, and support structures during crisis incidents.
Article
The news headlines became increasingly alarmist in the early months of 2020.
In late January the New York Times asked, “Is the world ready for the
coronavirus?” (Editorial Board, 2020). A month later the Los Angeles
Times headline read, “Coronavirus spread in United States is inevitable, CDC
warns” (Shalby, 2020). As the COVID-19 pandemic intensified, schools were
forced to take notice. In a front-page article, the writers at Education
Week noted that school districts were “likely to be on the front lines in efforts
to limit [the virus’] impact” (Superville, 2020, p. 1).
By mid-March it was clear that the virus was going global. School systems
across the planet began to close and the Washington Post headline read,
“Coronavirus now a global pandemic as United States world scramble to
control outbreak” (Zezima et al., 2020). Early outbreaks in China and Italy led
to drastic societal lockdowns in Southeast Asia and Europe. The rest of the
world soon followed.

Most school systems were caught flatfooted, despite the fact that many
locations had several months warning. School boards and administrators
dithered about what to do. Government support for schools and families was
ambiguous. Uncertainty reigned everywhere. The global pandemic spread
rapidly and most schools struggled to react both quickly and adequately.
Schools in the United States began to close in early March whether they were
ready or not (Lieberman, 2020) and several weeks later America faced “a
school shutdown of historic proportions” (Sawchuk, 2020, p. 12). Today
COVID-19 continues to spread across the planet, with many countries–
including the United States–facing their worst rates of infection and death to
date (Schnirring, 2020). While some schools are fully open, others have closed
again or have moved to remote instruction for nearly all of their students
(Gewertz and Sawchuk, 2020).

By now it is evident that the global pandemic has created an unprecedented

challenge for school leaders. Although principals and superintendents are
used to handling smaller crises such as fights in the hallway, a leaky boiler,
irate parents, disagreements over budgetary choices, or even a scandal
concerning a local educator, most school leaders have never dealt with a crisis
of this scale and this scope for this long. Even the immediacy of larger crises
that often force school closures–such as a large snowstorm, a hurricane, or a
school shooting–typically expires after a few days or weeks. Like no other
crisis before, the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the deficiencies of our
educational systems and the lack of administrator preparation regarding crisis
leadership. As the pandemic continues to stretch the outer limits of our
individual and institutional resiliency, this article is an attempt to understand
the responses of P-12 school leaders around the world during those first few
critical months.

Review of the Literature

The literature base on crisis leadership has been broadly consistent for
decades. Often drawn from the government, military, business, or health
sectors, several key themes and leadership behaviors regularly emerge from
the scholarly research. In the sections below, we briefly describe what we seem
to know about leadership during crisis situations, both in education and
across other societal sectors.
What Is Crisis Leadership?
Since crises occur regularly in the lives of organizations, several researchers
have attempted to create conceptual models and sense-making frameworks to
help leaders and institutions think about effective leadership during crisis
events. Boin et al. (2013) created one of the most comprehensive crisis
leadership frameworks. Noting that crisis episodes bring out instant “winners”
and “losers” when it comes to leadership, they articulated ten key executive
tasks that accompany successful crisis management. Initial tasks include early
recognition of the crisis, sensemaking in conditions of uncertainty, and
making critical decisions. Other tasks include vertical and horizontal
coordination within the organization and across organizations, as well as
coupling and decoupling systems as necessary. Other critical tasks include
robust communication, helping others engage in meaning-making for others,
and, finally, reflecting on and learning from the crisis and rendering
accountability regarding what worked and what did not. The authors noted
that the overall goal of a leader should be to increase organizational resilience
before, during, and after a crisis (pp. 82–87). Each of these executive tasks has
been unpacked in further detail in the scholarly literature and most of the
elements in the framework from Boin, Kuipers, and Overdijk occur frequently
in others’ conceptual models (see, e.g., Smith and Riley, 2012; Dückers et al.,
2017).

As noted by Boin et al. (2013), one of the most consistent elements of crisis
leadership appears to be sensemaking in conditions of uncertainty. During a
crisis, challenges arise quickly and both information and known solutions may
be scarce. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the key
challenges for school leaders were the unique nature of the crisis (i.e., most
school organizations have not experienced a pandemic), the rapid timeline,
and the accompanying uncertainty that hindered effective responses. Leaders’
experience mattered little when the COVID crisis had few “knowable
components” (Flin, 1996; Kahneman and Klein, 2009; Klein, 2009). Boin and
Renaud (2013) articulated that joint sensemaking is “particularly important to
effective crisis management: if decision makers do not have a shared and
accurate picture of the situation, they cannot make informed decisions and
communicate effectively with partners, politicians, and the public” (p. 41).
Unfortunately for many school leaders during the first months of the
pandemic, policymakers–and often the administrators above those leaders in
the organizational hierarchy–often lacked an accurate picture of what was
occurring, nor did they share what they knew with others in ways that enabled
effective leadership responses and partnerships. Anecdotal stories abound of
front-line educators and administrators struggling to get information and
guidance during the pandemic’s first few months from those above them in
the school system or from their local, state, and federal politicians.

Another consistent element of crisis leadership is effective communication,

and numerous scholars have emphasized the leader’s role in communicating
with both internal and external audiences. Marsen (2020) noted that crisis
communication must deal with both issue management during the crisis and
reputation management after the crisis. In their handbook on crisis
communication, Heath and O’Hair (2020) emphasized that good
communication is critically important because of the social nature of a leader’s
work and because crisis management is inherently a collective activity.
Effective communication builds trust and helps to create shared
understandings and commitments across stakeholders (Lucero et al., 2009).
During times of crisis, effective leaders engage in holding, which means that
they are containing and interpreting what is happening during a time of
uncertainty. As Petriglieri (2020) noted:

Containing refers to the ability to soothe distress and interpreting to the

ability to help others make sense of a confusing predicament… [Leaders]
think clearly, offer reassurance, orient people, and help them stick
together. That work is as important as inspiring others. In fact, it is a
precondition for doing so.

Another important finding regarding crisis leadership is that what constitutes

effective leadership often changes over the time span of the crisis (Hannah et
al., 2009). As conditions shift and new needs emerge, leaders must be flexible
and adaptive (Smith and Riley, 2012). During the first few months of the
COVID-19 pandemic, for example, most school leaders progressed through
several key response phases (McLeod, 2020b). Phase 1 represented a focus on
basic needs and included feeding children and families, ensuring student
access to computing devices and the Internet, and checking in on families’
wellbeing. During Phase 2, administrators reoriented their schools to deliver
instruction remotely. This work included training teachers in new pedagogies
and technologies, as well as establishing instructional routines and digital
platforms to facilitate online learning. Once schools began to settle into new
routines, leaders then could begin paying attention to richer, deeper learning
opportunities for students (Phase 3) and look ahead to future opportunities
and help their organizations be better prepared for future dislocations of
schooling (Phase 4). This latter phase is what many scholars have identified as
a reconstruction (Boin and Hart, 2003) or adaptive Prewitt et al., 2011) stage
of crisis leadership (see also Coombs, 2000; Heath, 2004; Jaques,
2009; Smith and Riley, 2012).
Finally, some researchers have noted the importance of leaders’ attention to
social and emotional concerns during a crisis (see, e.g., Meisler et al., 2013).
After finding that “the psychosocial dimension of crises has received little
attention in crisis management literature” (p. 95), Dückers et al.
(2017) created a conceptual model of psychosocial crisis management that
emphasized such leadership and organizational tasks as “providing
information and basic aid” and “promoting a sense of safety, calming, self- and
community efficacy, connectedness to others, and hope” (p. 101). The authors
noted that effective crisis leadership involves more than effective
communication and response coordination and also must attend to the
general wellbeing and health of employees and other stakeholders.
Crisis Leadership in Schools
The literature cited here from other contexts also is applicable to school
systems. During a crisis, school leaders–like their counterparts in other
institutions–must engage in effective communication, facilitate sensemaking
in conditions of uncertainty, be flexible and adaptive, and pay attention to the
emotional wellbeing and health of employees. The executive tasks described
by Boin et al. (2013) are relevant for school organizations and their leaders,
just as they are in other societal sectors. In addition to the more generalized
research base, some crisis leadership research has been conducted on school
settings specifically. For instance, Smith and Riley (2012) recognized that
school administrators’ crisis leadership is very different from that necessary to
be successful in a more “normal” school environment. They also noted that
critical attributes of effective crisis leadership in schools include:

The ability to cope with–and thrive on–ambiguity; a strong capacity to

think laterally; a willingness to question events in new and insightful
ways; a preparedness to respond flexibly and quickly, and to change
direction rapidly if required; an ability to work with and through people to
achieve critical outcomes; the tenacity to persevere when all seems to be
 lost; and a willingness to take necessary risks and to “break the rules”
when necessary (p. 65).

In a study of school principals’ actions after the 2011 earthquake in

Christchurch, New Zealand, Mutch (2015b) articulated a three-factor
conceptual model of school crisis leadership. The first factor
was dispositional and included school leaders’ values, belief systems,
personality traits, skills, and areas of expertise. The second factor
was relational and included leaders’ visioning work as well as fostering
collaboration, building trust, enabling empowerment, and building a sense of
community. The final factor was situational, which included understanding
both the past and immediate contexts, adapting to changing needs, thinking
creatively, and providing direction for the organization. In her case studies of
four elementary schools, Mutch identified specific leadership actions that fell
under each of these factors. In a separate article that same year, Mutch
(2015a) noted that schools with an inclusive culture and with strong
relationships beforehand are better situated to manage crises that may occur.

Many researchers have noted the importance of maintaining trust during a

crisis (see, e.g., Mutch, 2015a; Dückers et al., 2017). Sutherland
(2017) examined leadership behaviors in light of a school crisis caused by the
accidental deaths of two students on a service-learning trip.
Utilizing Tschannen-Moran and Hoy’s (2000) model of trust in schools,
Sutherland found that closely held, non-consultative decision-making by top
executives eroded the school’s ability to communicate effectively and thus
hindered trust in the larger school community. He also found that subsequent
implementation of new communication structures fostered better
collaboration and rebuilt trust with educators and families. Sutherland’s
findings are relevant for school leaders who have struggled to balance often-
conflicting parent and educator expectations during the pandemic and thus
have seen community trust erode as a result.
Mahfouz et al. (2019) studied Lebanese principals and schools as they
responded to the international Syrian refugee crisis. They noted that “instead
of focusing on leadership and academic performance, principals [faced with a
large influx of Syrian refugee families spent] most of their time “putting out
fires,” resolving urgent issues, and attending to basic needs that typically are
taken for granted in other schools” (p. 24). Those challenges resemble the
lived experiences of many principals and superintendents during the first
months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crisis Leadership in Schools During the Pandemic
Some very recent publications have attempted to apply principles of crisis
leadership to the COVID-19 pandemic in non-educational sectors. For
instance, Pearce et al. (2021) employed leadership concepts from the military
to the global pandemic, identifying some “key components of mission
command” as unity of effort, freedom of action, trust, and rapid decision
making (pp. 1–2). These leadership concepts are similar to a list identified for
public health officials several years ago, which also emphasized trust,
decisiveness with flexibility, and the ability to coordinate diverse stakeholders
(Deitchman, 2013).

Contemporary research on leadership in schools during the COVID-19

pandemic is starting to emerge as well. Although it is still relatively early to
make sense of schools’ responses to the pandemic, scholars are beginning to
try to understand the early phases of the crisis. Much of this work has been
theoretical or conceptual, however, rather than empirical. For
instance, Bagwell (2020) noted that the pandemic “is rapidly redefining
schooling and leadership” (p. 31) and advocated for leaders to lead adaptively,
build organizational and individual resilience, and create distributed
leadership structures for optimal institutional response. Likewise, Netolicky
(2020) noted many of the tensions that school leaders are facing during the
pandemic. These tensions range from the need to lead both fast and slow, to
balancing equity with excellence and accountability, to considering both
human needs and organizational outcomes.

During the pandemic, Fernandez and Shaw (2020) recommended that

academic leaders focus on best practices, try to see opportunities in the crisis,
communicate clearly, connect with others, and distribute leadership within
the organization. Harris and Jones (2020) offered seven propositions for
consideration and potential research attention, including the ideas that “most
school leadership preparation and training programs… are likely to be out of
step with the challenges facing school leaders today” and that “self-care and
consideration must be the main priority and prime concerns for all school
leaders” (p. 245). They also recognized that “crisis and change management
are now essential skills of a school leader… [that] require more than routine
problem solving or occasional firefighting” (p. 246).

In one of the few empirical studies to emerge so far on pandemic-era school

leadership, Rigby et al. (2020) identified three promising practices for P-12
school systems: treating families as equal partners in learning, continuing to
provide high-quality learning opportunities for students, and decision-making
that is coordinated, coherent, and inclusive. Through their interviews of
thirteen central office leaders in the Puget Sound area of Washington, they
also made three recommendations, which were for school districts to focus on
“building on” not “learning loss,” to prioritize relationships, and to create anti-
racist, systemic coherence (p. 6). Regarding their first recommendation, they
noted that “this is an opportunity to design systems to understand and build
on what children learned (and continue to learn) at home” (p. 6).

As the pandemic progresses, there is a clear need for more empirical research
on the effects of COVID-19 on schools and other institutions. Educational
scholars and school leaders need evidence from the field to inform the
theoretical and conceptual approaches that have dominated during the first
months of the global crisis.
Methods
The exploratory research in this study involved interviews with school leaders
from across the United States and in nine other countries. The interview series
was not originally conceived as a research study. Instead, it originated as a
series of informal recorded conversations that were dubbed the Coronavirus
Chronicles and posted on the blog of one of the authors (McLeod, 2020a).
Participants gave consent prior to their interviews to make their conversations
public in this manner. A YouTube channel was created to host the videos. The
interviews also were posted as audio recordings on several podcast hosting
services, including Apple, Spotify, and SoundCloud. All interviews were
publicized through the blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social
media channels. The goal was to make the interviews accessible to other
school leaders who might find them informative and to make the interview
series subscribable for those who wished to receive regular updates. As the
number of interviews grew, we began to receive requests to identify larger
themes that cut across the conversations and to delineate specific leadership
behaviors that seemed to be useful during the crisis. We agreed that might be
helpful to others and received permission from the Colorado Multiple
Institutional Review Board to begin thinking about these interviews as a
qualitative research study.

Because of the organic evolution of this project, the participants for this study
were selected through convenience sampling. Convenience sampling is “a type
of non-probability sampling in which people are sampled simply because they
are “convenient” sources of data for researchers” (Lavrakas, 2008).
Convenience sampling was employed in this study for several reasons.
Because the global pandemic was a particularly stressful event for schools and
their administrators, the earliest interviewees were chosen based on personal
connections and school leaders’ resultant willingness to make time for a
conversation. As visibility of the Coronavirus Chronicles interview series
grew, we also began to receive requests from others to participate. The blog
posts that accompanied each new interview solicited viewers and listeners to
participate in the series if they were interested and multiple school leaders
took us up on that offer. At times we purposefully extended invitations to
certain schools. For instance, we invited a series of international schools in
order to get a spread of perspectives across multiple continents. We also
invited several project- and inquiry-based learning schools to share their
experiences, which we thought might be different from more traditional
school systems. Accordingly, the results of this study may not be generalizable
to other schools or school leaders, and care should be taken when interpreting
our participants’ responses. Nonetheless, we believe that the information
provided by the school leaders who participated in this interview series has
value for other educational administrators, particularly as they consider their
own leadership behaviors and support structures during this worldwide crisis.

We interviewed a total of 55 educators from 43 school organizations. Eleven of

those institutions were international schools and the other 32 schools,
districts, and educational programs were based in the United States. Three
different schools in China were selected because the COVID-19 virus appeared
to originate there, schools in that country were the first in the world to close
down, and we thought that their early responses would be informative to
schools in other countries for whom the virus was just starting to influence
decision-making. We made some attempt to loosely sample a cross section of
America, and we eventually talked with school leaders in 21 different states.
Most of our interviewees were principals, superintendents, or central office
administrators. A few were teachers or instructional coaches.

All interviews were conducted using the Zoom videoconferencing software

platform and were scheduled at times convenient for all participants. The
intent of the interviews was to gain an understanding of how interviewees’
school organizations were responding during the early months of the global
pandemic. As Kvale (1996) noted, personal interviews are a particularly
powerful method for “studying people’s understanding of the meaning in their
lived world” (p. 105). We were particularly interested in hearing about what
learning and teaching looked like in participants’ schools as they shifted into
remote instructional modalities. We also asked these school leaders to
describe the decisions made by their leadership teams that seemed to work
well during this difficult time, and they told us about some of the challenges
and opportunities that they foresaw in the months to come. Additionally,
many of the interviewees shared with us their immediate personal and
institutional responses in the earliest days and weeks surrounding the closure
of their schools.

We utilized a semi-structured approach for the qualitative interviews in this

study (Yin, 2011). First, the relationships between ourselves and our
interviewees were not strictly scripted. The interviews had a few standard
questions but the wording of the questions, the wording of the follow-up
questions, and the order in which the questions were asked varied according
to the flow of each discussion. Second, the interviews were conducted
informally rather than in a scripted style, allowing each interview to be
personalized and to provide a more casual dialogue between subject and
interviewer. Third, we primarily asked open-ended questions so that
participants would offer more rich detail in their responses. Interviews lasted
from 9 to 20 min and were intentionally kept short so that episodes might fit
more easily within participants’, viewers’, and listeners’ busy work lives.

All interviews were transcribed using NoNotes, a secure third-party

transcription service. Corrections were made to the transcriptions as
necessary. We determined an initial set of codes through ongoing, open,
inductive coding. We then engaged in selective coding to validate the
relationships between themes against the data. Through this process, the
initial set of codes and subcodes were refined and expanded based on the data
set. Coding was conducted both jointly and individually. However, we
reviewed each others’ coding and collaborated on the coding scheme until
consensus was reached.
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many challenges to our education
systems. Yet, it also presents an opportunity to re-consider the delivery of
education and schooling by those in educational leadership positions. School
leadership teams play a vital role in creating the environments that support
teachers, students and their families to continue to be connected and learning
during the COVID pandemic, whether in school or at home. In times of
uncertainty, they can build community, coherence and equity around schools. 
Those in educational leadership positions around schools, either at the local,
regional or national level can provide support, technology and guidelines in
preparation for next steps. Schools, their teachers and leaders require those
in education leadership positions around them to provide clarity and vision in
terms of learning and curriculum requirements, health and safety guidelines,
training and resources to be able to define learning solutions that will allow
their schools to flourish in times of uncertainty. If these are available and well
communicated, schools can be trusted to shape their responses and get on
with education in their schools, whether live, remote or a combination that will
allow their students to continue learning.  
With the experience of the COVID-19 crisis, we can look back to the short-
term impact on the role of educational leaders. As schools closed, the
physical schools disappeared, and reduced not only direct or live learning
opportunities, but also the social interaction of students with friends, peers
and the teaching professionals in schools. In short periods of time, across
many countries, educational leaders at different levels worked to reconfigure
education continuity through remote approaches, either using existing
technological resources, TV, radio, mobile phones, paper or home schooling.
Education professionals adapted to new ways of teaching and interaction with
students from their own homes.
With the need for social distancing, planned student assessments, especially
high stakes exams and those needed to gauge transitions into next stages of
education, were dropped or replaced. These decisions were made in a very
short time, with limited information or evidence available and reduced capacity
to interact with many different education stakeholders to shape responses.
Overall, they rose to the challenge and many children across the world
continued learning and/or interacting with their teachers online, or through
other means. But inequalities increased, as children in more disadvantaged
homes had fewer resources to follow remote learning approaches. 
In such times of complexity, with little information, school leaders and
teachers engaged with creativity and professionalism to maintain their links
with students. Without the physical school, the role of school leaders had to
focus on preserving the school community, finding the right technology to
connect teachers, their students and families, and making sure that the
learning was adapted and coherent. Underpinning the learning, they had to
respond to staff and student well-being.
This experience can be canvassed for system and school leaders to respond
in times of uncertainty to continue education provision, whether in schools,
hybrid or online learning approaches, or other solutions. While there is limited
research evidence on education delivery during pandemics, there is data and
broader evidence that can help shape steps to take. Education leaders can
build on the lessons learned as a bridge to configure what schooling could
look like in the future.
On one hand, schools and their staff overall have managed to make the
transition to remote learning creatively and resourcefully, demonstrating their
professionalism. Governance arrangements that give decision making to
schools in the delivery of education appears warranted when capacity and
resources exist. Schools and their leaders can have autonomy and trust to
continue delivering education in ways that are consistent with their school
objectives, if they have the supportive conditions in terms of technology,
resources, capacity and health criteria. This can be enhanced by promoting
networks for education professionals to share ways of teaching and
interaction with students from their homes, but also providing training and
capacity building for this new environment. System leaders can consider
giving schools guidelines and allow them to plan their own actions at the
school level. 
While remote learning approaches appear to have been more or less
successful as an immediate response, it has also shown the role of schools as
a community, which is, in addition to learning, a vital aspect of schooling.
School leaders need to work to preserve and enhance their school community
by shaping the school vision collectively and actively communicating with
teachers, students and parents. 
As inequities have increased especially for the more disadvantaged, the role
of schools as providers of a level playing field has been more evident than
ever. Schools contribute to student health, well-being and equity. A key focus
of many school support measures adopted during school closures have been
on providing meals, or looking for ways to support student well-being. As
schools and their leaders consider responses in times of crisis, these
concerns should be at the core. 
COVID-19 has allowed school professionals to experience learning beyond
the physical building, broadening the borders of school buildings to
reimagining education. Those in educational leadership positions need to
consider how to weave remote learning into the teaching and learning
experiences of their schools. While the use of technology to support this will
be key, engaging and consulting students in shaping these new approaches
will be at the heart of success.
Education leaders at different levels needed to define the essential learning to
deliver in remote environments. Decisions were made based on different
criteria, such as teacher availability, subject ease to deliver remotely, online
platforms or materials available. In times of emergencies such as COVID,
education leaders will need to decide their learning priorities in the short,
medium and longer term, which will vary greatly depending on the level of
education. 
Student assessments have been dropped or replaced, leading to search for
different ways to gauge student learning. In the future, this will require thinking
at different levels of the system at national, regional/local and school, on what
and how to assess student learning. School leaders can help bring coherence
in the grading of their students across their school, using formative or other
school-based assessments. System leaders will need to define the “what
next” for assessments clearly and provide clear guidance. In the future,
artificial intelligence may have an important role. 
These are just some of the issues that schools and system leaders will need
to consider in times of uncertainty in the delivery of education. Overall,
COVID-19 has magnified many of the challenges and issues in education that
existed before, such as learning content for the 21st century, inequities,
assessments, the use of technology or investing in teacher professionalism.
Education leaders in schools and at the system level have the opportunity to
consider how to weave in lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to reimagine
the delivery of education in ways that are suited to the 21st century. They
have done it quickly in times of need, and can now take a bit more time to
reimagine and reshape the future. Now is the time to rise to the educational
leadership challenge.

“Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching and whoever learns teaches in
the act of learning" wrote the Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire in his famous
book “Pedagogy of Freedom” (1996). 
 
Despite the overwhelming consequences of the pandemic, this global crisis
has also been an extraordinary time for learning. We are learning how
adaptable and resilient educational systems, policy makers, teachers,
students and families can be. In this blog (which is part of a series highlighting
key lessons learned from a study to understand the perceived effectiveness of
remote learning solutions, forthcoming) we summarize lessons learned in
different countries, with special focus on teachers and how they had to
quickly reimagine human connections and interactions to facilitate learning.
The role of teachers is rapidly evolving becoming in many ways more
difficult than when learning took place only in person. 
How has the pandemic changed the role of teachers?
Two crucial factors have shifted due to the pandemic. First, pedagogical
adaptations have proven to be pivotal as the traditional lecturing in-person
models do not translate to a remote learning environment. No matter the type
of channel used (radio, TV, mobile, online platforms, etc.) teachers need to
adapt their practices and be creative to keep students engaged as every
household has become a classroom - more often than not - without an
environment that supports learning. Some countries are supporting teachers
with this. In Sierra Leone, where the main remote learning channel is radio, a
‘live’ and toll-free phone line is open for students to call teachers with
questions and schedules of radio lessons allow time for children to help their
families with daily chores.
Second, the pandemic has recalibrated how teachers divide their time
between teaching, engaging with students, and administrative tasks. In Brazil
according to a survey conducted by Instituto Peninsula, 83% of teachers did
not consider being prepared to teach remotely, 67% were anxious, 38% felt
tired, and less than 10% were happy or satisfied. The pandemic has
highlighted the need for flexibility and more time for student-teacher
interactions. For example, in Estonia teachers were given autonomy to adjust
the curriculum, lesson plans, and their time allocation. 
How systems have supported teachers in their new role?
Almost 90% of countries that responded to the survey of Ministries of
Education on National Responses to COVID-19 conducted by UNESCO,
UNICEF, and the World Bank (2020) supported teachers by sharing
guidelines stressing the importance of: providing feedback to students,
maintaining constant communication with caregivers, and reporting to local
education units to keep track of learning. Fewer governments took a different
approach: Costa Rica developed a digital toolbox with pedagogical
resources such as a guide for autonomous work, the state of São Paulo in
Brazil organized frequent two-hour conversations between Secretary Rossieli
Soares and teachers  through the mobile application developed by the state.
These conversations and tools allowed governments to have an open line of
communication with teachers to better understand their concerns and adjust
remote learning programs.
As teachers started to implement these guidelines and recommendations,
they found themselves balancing educating and providing feedback to
students remotely, filling administrative reports, and taking care of their
families. Some governments recognized early-on that their well-intentioned
teacher support systems ended up generating burnout. Peru’s Ministry of
Education was open to receive feedback and reacted rapidly by changing the
guidelines to reduce teacher’s administrative workload. The state of Minas
Gerais in Brazil developed the mobile application ‘Conexao Escola’ to
encourage teacher-student interaction during designated time after each
class, avoiding a situation in which students contacted teachers through
WhatsApp or text message throughout the day. In Uruguay, teachers were
expected to fill administrative information, but instead of requesting new
information from them, the government decided to use GURI, a digital
platform that has been used by Uruguayan teachers for over 10 years to
report information such as student attendance and grades.
Beyond providing guidelines and tools, some governments have leveraged
existing professional development programs that worked before the
pandemic. The state of Edo in Nigeria trained all 11 thousand primary school
teachers who are part of the Edo-BEST program in the past two years to
effectively use digital technologies in the classroom; during the pandemic, this
in-service teacher training program transitioned from in-person to remote
training. Similarly, in Uruguay, The Institute for in-Service Teacher
Training took an existing coaching program online to provide remote
pedagogical support and Ceibal strengthened its teacher training program and
Open Educational Resources repository. While over 90% of Uruguayan
teachers were satisfied with the remote training received during the pandemic,
some expressed the need for further training.
What impact have technologies generated in this changing role?  
Faced with the pandemic, countries have combined high-tech and low-tech
approaches to help teachers better support student learning. In
Cambodia, for example, education leaders designed a strategy that
combines SMS, printed handouts, and continuous teacher feedback, taking
advantage of the high mobile phone penetration in the country. The approach
goes beyond providing low-tech materials: it gives information on how to
access learning programs, ensures students access paper-based learning
materials, and includes home visits to monitor distance learning activities.
Teachers are also expected to provide weekly paper-based resources to
students and meet them weekly to provide their marked worksheets and issue
new ones for the week ahead.  
Technology has also enhanced government-teacher support, adapting
existing coaching programs to be delivered remotely (as the mentioned cases
of Nigeria and Uruguay), creating spaces for peer support programs (for
example the Virtual EdCamps initiative, created to facilitate peer-to-peer
learning among teachers) or establishing EdTech hotlines for teachers (like in
Estonia, where the HITSA – the Information Technology Foundation for
Education - opened an educational technology information line to solve any
technological question teachers might have).
Technology interventions should enhance teacher engagement with
students, through improved access to content, data and networks, helping
teachers better support student learning, as laid out in the World Bank’s
Platform for Successful Teachers, where effective use of technology is one of
the key principles to ensure cadres of effective teachers. 
How policymakers can support teachers during the reopening of
schools?
In order to build back stronger education systems, countries will need to
apply those teaching initiatives that have proved to be effective during the
remote learning phase and integrate them into the regular education system.
It is critical to empower teachers, investing in the necessary skills
development and capacity building to exploit the full potential of remote and
blended learning. 
Equally important is to free teachers’ time from administrative tasks (as Brazil,
Peru and Uruguay did), focus on what is pedagogically effective, and provide
socio-emotional support for teachers.  The pandemic and the extended school
closures have changed the role of teachers and most of them were not
prepared for such change; a comprehensive strategy is required for socio-
emotional monitoring and psychosocial support to ensure teacher wellbeing
and avoid burnout.