Session Information
26 SES 07 B, Educational Leadership in Crisis: Perspectives and Directions
Paper Session
Contribution
Climate change has led to a world wide increase in severe weather events . (Lozano, et al 2017, Clarke & Evans, 2019). In Australia, school communities and their surrounding landscapes have been ravaged by fire and flood and these events are becoming more common and critical events that impact schools are only likely to increase. This is not a problem associated only with the Australian continent, rather it is an urgent global concern. In the aftermath of recent catastrophic fires and floods, is an opportune time to learn how leaders are deal effectively with a crisis that affects so many people in their school communities.
During crises school leaders are forced to very abruptly deal with catastrophic events which require very specific leadership skills tools, strategies and practices. Scholars suggest that an alternative approach to leadership is required during times of crisis (Drysdale & Gurr 2017; Mutch 2015; Smith & Riley 2012). The experiences of those who have faced these challenges in the past offer an insight into not just what works well, but also it indicates what resources need to be developed. Moreover, how leaders lead through crises and consideration of the unique strengths and initiatives developed by school communities is an area identified for further research (Okilwa & Barnett, 2021).
This presentation shares findings from a study which is premised on a theoretical framework drawn from draws both leadership and school crisis literature. The research question addresses the features of school leaders’ communication that are required in times of crisis. The objective of the study is to map the extant literature on how school leaders communicate during crises and explore the features of communication of school leaders who experienced catastrophic bushfires. When a major fire occurs in a school, the impact can be felt for years to come and how school communities rebuild depends on strong leadership (Nye, 2016).
The importance of school leaders’ communication during crisis events cannot be underestimated. Communication during crises has to be effective and is key in navigating through the event and its aftermath. Effective communication is important for protecting lives during the crisis, maintaining the reputation of the school, and mitigating any negative repercussions associated with the crisis (Coombs, 2019). Although traditional means of communication may be obstructed during a crisis, finding a means for rapid and accurate communications can mitigate losses and foster trust between school leaders school and those affected (Alanezi, 2021). School leaders filter messages from mainstream news outlets and social media to reassure teachers and parents (Hume et al., 2021) and, in turn, they are responsible for brokering information to the community and public. This requires expertise in working with the media. Moreover communication is an important element in the recouperation process as leaders deal with communities in trauma and shock.
Method
The research was designed to provide an ethnographic snap shot of the experiences of school leaders who led their schools through catastrophic bushfire events. The project is located in an interpretivist research paradigm. The collective case study spans four school sites where bushfires have taken place. Four significant school fires were chosen to be examined in depth. The data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews with school leaders, as well as the examination of documents relating to the fires and social media grabs. Photographs were provided by the school leaders of the devastation and the key initiatives developed during the recuperation phase. The school leaders were invited to share a narrative of their experience during a bushfire event. It became apparent during the interviews that communication was an important feature of leadership during the bushfire crises. As this presentation specifically addresses leader communication during crises, the primary data sources comprise the interviews with school leaders from these four schools in New South Wales, Australia. This context comprised regional and urban schools whose school leaders volunteered to share their experiences. The purposive sampling targeted school leaders who were interested in sharing their experience of leading through a catastrophic bushfire event. Ethical clearance was received from the University of New England and the school leaders received informational letters that explained the study, requested consent for voluntary involvement and assured confidentiality. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. The data were thematically analysed. The researchers created categories using a coding process. These were discussed by the researchers and verified to enhance trustworthiness. The interview questions examined the school leaders’ perceptions and perspectives. The were semi structured so as to invite the leaders to share narratives of their experiences. The authors conducted inductive analyses in order to generate themes. The thematic analysis examined the leaders’ narratives to determine connections and commonalities and highlight different units of meaning. The researchers used colour coding to identify themes (Williams & Moser, 2019) which will be shared in the presentation.
Expected Outcomes
Research on crises in schools mainly centre on prevention and the approaches taken to mitigate impacts during and immediately after crises events. Communication is integral to this work. Each school, community, and landscape is different and each crisis is born of unique circumstances. It is well acknowledged that context significantly impacts leadership practices (Clarke & O’Donoghue, 2016; Gurr & Drysdale, 2018) and therefore there are nuanced findings in this case study research. Educators and researchers may find the findings relatable and the study can inform the field moving forward. While there has been much written about educators’ responses to the COVID-19 and there is a growing corpus of literature on leading during the pandemic, the sudden catastrophic nature of natural disasters bring with them their own set of challenges. The focus of this study on communication may be helpful for educators and policy makers who need to prepare ahead of disasters. Moreover the findings highlight the important of effective communication in fostering both trust and resilience among school communities. Moreover the findings highlight the value of communicating to support distributed leadership in post-critical stages of reconstruction and the rebuilding of resources. The findings of this research can be brokered with Departments of Education, policy makers, leaders and teachers in schools, and their broader school communities. There is an ongoing need for responsive and effective practices associated with crisis leadership in schools.
References
Alanezi, A. (2021). Using social networks in school crisis management: evidence from middle school principals in Kuwait. Education 3-13, 49(8), 935-944 Clarke, H. & Evans, J.P. (2019). Exploring the future change space for fire weather in southeast Australia. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 136, 513-527. Clarke, S., & O’Donoghue, T. (2016). Leadership, learning, and change in post-conflict schools: Much Ado about a Lot. In Leadership in Diverse Learning Contexts (pp. 129-143). Springer, Cham. Coombs, T. (2019). Crisis Communication. Encyclopedia of Public Relations. New York: Tyles & Francis. Drysdale, L., & Gurr, D. (2017). Leadership in uncertain times. International Studies in educational administration, 45(2), 131-159. Gurr, D., & Drysdale, L. (2018). Leading high needs schools: Findings from the international school leadership development network. International Studies in Educational Administration, 46(1), 147-156. Hulme, M., Beauchamp, G., Clarke, L., & Hamilton, L. (2021). Collaboration in times of crisis: Leading UK schools in the early stages of a pandemic. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 1-20. Lozano, O. M., Salis, M., Ager, A. A., Arca, B., Alcasena, F. J., Monteiro, A. T., Finney, M., Del Giudice, L., Scoccimarro, E., & Spano, D. (2017). Assessing climate change impacts on wildfire exposure in Mediterranean areas. Risk Analysis, 37(10), 1898 – 1916. Mutch, C. (2015). Leadership in times of crisis: Dispositional, relational and contextual factors influencing school principals’ actions. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 14, 186-194. Nye, A. (2016). 'Working from the boot of a red falcon': The impact of major fires in four Australian schools. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 83-98. Okilwa, N. S., & Barnett, B. G. (2021). Strategies and Practices of Leading Schools During the Current COVID-19 Crisis. International Studies in Educational Administration (Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management (CCEAM)), 49(3)\, 61-81. Smith, L., & Riley, D. (2012). School leadership in times of crisis. School Leadership & Management, 32(1), 57-71. Sutherland, I. E. (2017). Learning and growing: Trust, leadership, and response to crisis. Journal of Educational Administration, 55(1), 2-17. Williams, M., & Moser, T. (2019). The art of coding and thematic exploration in qualitative research. International Management Review, 15(1), 45-55.
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