Principals’ Discursive Framing and Communications and Educators’ Job Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This qualitative interview study investigated principals’ discursive frames and communications during the COVID-19 pandemic. The six leader interviews that comprise this study’s dataset were drawn from a purposeful sample of schools with variable educator job satisfaction survey results. A combination of deductive and inductive coding of the interview data informed by framing theory was conducted. This analysis revealed that leaders of schools with the least amount of change in educator job satisfaction during the pandemic drew upon diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational frames and used a variety of communication strategies that encouraged collaboration and cooperation. Findings suggest that while all principals in this study shared similar challenges and all increased the frequency of their communications during the pandemic, how principals framed uncertainty, listened to and responded to staff concerns, and communicated using different modes and with different stakeholders contrasted in schools with variable educator job satisfaction changes. This study holds implications for school principal crisis-management communications and future study of them.