A Qualitative Exploration of School Leader Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to consider the lived experience of K-12 school leaders amid the pandemic of 2020. The research question is: What were the professional experiences of educational leaders as they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic? To support the main question, the following Sub Questions were applied to the research: what challenges did these leaders describe, what strategies did they implement, and what policies and considerations guided their choices in which strategies to implement. This was an unprecedented time in American education, as schools across the country closed, forcing school leaders to pivot to online learning. This qualitative, case study research included 15 interviews conducted with participants from five states, who offered varied experiences in leading various types of schools (public, private, and charter) filled with varying numbers of students, from multiple grade levels and varying socio-economic backgrounds. These leaders faced a similar phenomenon yet found different challenges. They met these challenges with different strategies and learned different lessons. Their experiences are delineated in this study as independent case studies. For purposes of comparison, each case study contains descriptions of the same sections: school description, the switch to virtual, metrics, communication, special education, response, perceived successes, and lessons learned. Although the headings are the same, the information and experiences were different. The case studies were analyzed for similarities and six themes emerged from the collected data. The themes were Fear and Uncertainty, Isolation and Connection, Grace and Compassion, Flexibility and Elasticity, Freedom to Experiment, and Triumph over Adversity. The case studies were analyzed through the lens of two theorists, Abraham Maslow and Robert Marzano. Answers to the research questions and emerging themes align with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and 21 responsibilities of a leader, particularly those he reported as having more weight during a second-order change event. The school leaders in this study lived through a phenomenon that education had not seen in recent history. Their experiences have implications and recommendations for school leaders dealing with second-order change.