school management
The 3 Cs
You realise really quickly in times like this that you ’ re actually a community leader .
Community , communication and compassion key when leading schools in lockdown .
By Richard Garfield
A study into the experiences of school leaders during the first round of COVID-19 related school shutdowns in 2020 has found that those who engaged in community , communication and compassion-based responses were most successful in leading their school community through uncertain times .
Conducted by the Faculty of Education at Monash University in Melbourne in the middle of the year , the study included research data drawn from individual , semi-structured interviews with eight school leaders across Victoria taken at a time when the first wave of community lockdowns was in place and schools were busy introducing remote learning practices .
Lead research Dr Fiona Longmuir said the study revealed four key areas in which the schools and their leadership teams had been impacted .
“ The participants reported that their attention was predominantly directed to the wellbeing of their communities ,” Longmuir said .
“ They noted an increase in the community leadership aspect of their role and the requirement of effective , timely and honest communication .
“ They also demonstrated prospective sensemaking capabilities in their ability to generate a positive and productive outcome from their disruptive experiences .”
The study participants said members of the community turned to them for a calm and authoritative voice during the challenging period , which heightened their sense of connection with their wider school communities .
“ What you realise really quickly in times like this is that you ’ re actually a community leader ,” said Danni , a government secondary school principal who contributed to the study .
“ What I mean by that is outside of a political voice that our members of parliament have , it seems that the next voice that many community members go to , particularly families , is to school leaders .”
Frank , a government primary school principal pointed to the need to present a positive outlook .
“ My role is as a community leader , and reminding myself that I ’ m leading a community of people – the families , the staff and their families – and ensuring that I ’ m doing the best to spread a positive attitude ,” he said .
The importance of effective communication in a socially distanced environment also became apparent , Longmuir said .
“ Overall , the strongest message from all participants was just how allencompassing and important wellbeing became during the pandemic .
“ Leaders reported that the caring and compassionate aspects of their role were the most necessary as they supported their communities .
“ They developed systems and practices to ‘ check in ’ with students , families and staff ,” Longmuir added .
“ This included things such as arranging food hampers for families without income , supporting teachers with young children at home to manage their online teaching commitments , or making sure to have a one-on-one conversation every few days with a staff member who lived alone .”
The participants also highlighted the emotional strain and heavy workload they and their colleagues experienced through the lockdowns .
Kaleb , head of school at an independent school said : “ There were a lot of conversations where teachers really just spoke about how tiring it is , and ultimately you really just need to listen to that ... and [ acknowledge it and say ] ‘ Make sure that when you do get that opportunity you do take a break , or do something that you really love once a day ’.”
In a related article in the university ’ s Monash Lens publication , Longmuir said despite exhaustion brought about by the pressure and constant changes of remote learning , there was nevertheless a degree of positivity and optimism from the school leaders about future possibilities created by the experiences of 2020 .
“ It feels like there ’ s a bunch of people that have come back and gone , ‘ Actually , I want to do some stuff now ’,” said Dave , a secondary school assistant principal , speaking between the two major Melbourne lockdowns .
“ Their desire to push change in school has now built up .”
This sentiment was echoed by Narelle , a government school primary principal .
“ There ’ s been a real flurry of people wanting to try other things , and it being OK . It ’ s that agile thinking that has really come to the forefront within all the staff .” ■
24 | educationreview . com . au