Session Information
26 SES 03 C, School Leadership and COVID-19: The Aftermath Experiences
Paper Session
Contribution
In the spring of 2020, the closure of upper secondary schools was authorised, and all on-site teaching was transferred to distance settings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The schools were closed almost the entire spring semester. In the autumn, the organisation of schoolwork changed repeatedly concurrently with ever-changing regulations. The aim of this study is to gain understanding of the work experience, tasks and the cooperation school principals and assistant principals had with different stakeholders outside and inside the upper secondary schools during the first year of the pandemic and reflect changes in their agency.
The analytical framework used for this paper relies on neo-institutional theories (Scott, 2014). The definition of the term organisation is relatively similar between the leading scholars. In this paper the term organisation is understood as a unit that is designed around a particular task. However, when it comes to the term institution, the denotation is more varying. Waks (2007) states that institutions form the background of organisations, and Scott (2014) views institutions as having jurisdiction over organisations. According to both Scott and Waks, institutions are somehow in the background of organisations, and in that way, they control what happens within them. In addition, Scott (2014) describes institutions as representing stability, where social structures, created by actors with vested interest, slow down the processes of change and the same actors monitor and resist the intended change. Furthermore, within institutions, as Scott sees it, similar ideas, habits, norms, purposes, and frameworks guide human behaviour and mechanisms.
Other scholars, bringing Selznick’s (1949; 1957) work to life, have a similar understanding of the term institution (see Raffaelli & Glynn, 2015; Washington et al., 2008). They add a useful aspect to the conceptualisations of Scott (2014) and Waks (2007) in relation to change. These scholars describe interactive processes between both the organisational and institutional characteristics of a unit (see Kraatz, 2009; Raffaelli & Glynn, 2015; Washington et al., 2008). They describe how organisations can, for example, change into institutions over time through the processes of institutionalisation (Ansell et al., 2015; Selznick, 1996; Scott, 2014), and how institutional characteristics are loosened through the processes of deinstitutionalisation (Kraatz & Moore, 2002; Oliver, 1992; Scott, 2014). The characteristics of institutional and organisational leadership (Kraatz, 2009; Raffaelli & Glynn, 2015; Selznick, 1949; 1957; Washington et al. 2008) are highly relevant here to better understand the dynamics of change and the school leaders’ perceptions of their own agency, power, and vision when it comes to change at the upper secondary school level in Iceland.
In the light of the above terminology, change takes place within the organisational characteristics of schools, or when institutional characteristics are loosened through the processes of deinstitutionalisation (Kraatz & Moore, 2002; Oliver, 1992; Scott, 2012), and the fact that leaders usually act as organisational leaders when guiding change (Kraatz, 2009; Raffaelli & Glynn, 2015; Washington et al., 2008). In contrast to organisations, institutions represent more stability when diverse actors monitor and attempt to influence an intended change and determine its fate. Leaders acting within the institutional environment usually act as institutional leaders and constrain what takes place by silencing the intended change, reinforcing stability, and protecting the existing values held by groups with vested interest, or even when promoting their own values (Kraatz, 2009; Raffaelli & Glynn, 2015; Washington et al., 2008). Despite these ideas that change mainly takes place within organisational characteristics of units, some scholars (see Scott, 2014; Waks, 2007) describe how institutions change over time.
Method
The results are based on a mixed method, relying on two questionnaire surveys submitted to all upper secondary school staff in Iceland during the first year of the pandemic and interviewees with six school principals and assistant school principals from three upper secondary schools (Funded by Rannís 2021-2023 (nr. 217900-051). The survey The questionnaires were submitted to secondary school staff nationwide at the end of spring 2020 and again at the end of autumn 2020. This paper uses the responses of school leaders and assistant school leaders. A total of 39 answered the survey in the spring semester and 37 during the fall semester. The categories of questions analysed are background information such as gender and job title, work environment issues, school management, and communication. The analysis is based on descriptive statistics. The interview study Purposeful sampling was used to select three schools. All were medium or large, two in the Reykjavik metropolitan area and one was located outside the metropolitan area. One was a traditional grammar school and two were comprehensive schools. In each school, two school leaders were interviewed. A stratified sample was used when selecting the school leaders. The school director was always part of the sample. Another leader was selected randomly from the middle management layer. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data (Braun & Clarke, 2013).
Expected Outcomes
In the light of neo-institutional theories, de-institutionalization in some degree was identified. The findings show that the tasks of the school leaders increased in complexity, and so did the workload. As the pandemic progressed, contact with the external environment, staff members, students and parents increased. At the same time, they had to lead the most extensive changes that have been made to schoolwork to date on top of their traditional working duties. Certain aspects of schooling changed significantly during the pandemic, at least temporarily, while the centralised and institutional-oriented emphases of external stakeholders harmonised with the schools’ institutional framework. Concurrently, school leaders responded either as organisational leaders or institutional leaders. The tasks of school leaders developed during this time. In parallel with the increased call for pedagogical support, they took the lead on certain organisational aspects of the teaching. However, they did not go beyond their agency and thus they respected the professional independence of teachers. There were substantial distances between professionals and a certain gap formed between staff members, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, which fostered isolation of school leaders. The results raise pressing questions about division of labour and mandates, work related stress and professional support. In addition, the article highlights weaknesses in communication between different groups within the school community, at least during the pandemic.
References
Ansell, C., Boin, A., & Farjoun, M. (2015). Dynamic conservatism: How institutions change to remain the same. In M. S. Kraatz (Ed.), Institutions and ideals: Philip Selznick’s legacy for organizational studies (pp. 89–119). Bingley: Emerald. Braun, V. og Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research. A practical guide for beginners. Sage. Kraatz, M. S. (2009). Leadership as institutional work: A bridge to the other side. Í T. B. Lawrence, R. Suddaby og B. Leca (ritstj), Institutional work: Actors and agency in institutional studies of organizations (bls. 59–91). New York: Cambridge University Press. Kraatz, M. S., og Moore, J. H. (2002). Executive migration and institutional change. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 120–143. Oliver, C. (1992). The antecedents of deinstitutionalization. Organization Studies, 13(4), 563–588. Raffaelli, R., og Glynn, M. A. (2015). What’s so institutional about leadership? Leadership mechanisms of value infusion. M. Lounsbury (Ritstj.), Institutions and ideals: Philip Selznick’s legacy for organizational studies (Vol. 44, pp. 283–316). Bingley: Emerald. Scott, W. R. (2014). Institutions and organizations. Ideas, interests and identities (4. útg.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Waks, L. J. (2007). The concept of fundamental educational change. Educational Theory, 57(3), 277–295. Washington, M., Boal, K. B. og Davis, J. N. (2008). Institutional leadership: Past, present, and future. Í R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, R. Suddaby og K. Sahlin (ritsj), The Sage Handbook of Organization Institutionalism (p. 719–733). London: Sage.
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