Framing K-12 School Leaders’ Roles and Competencies in Times of Crisis

This qualitative study explores school leaders’ (principals and assistant principals) perspectives on crisis leadership roles and their competencies in responding to and managing a crisis. The role of school leaders has become increasingly disrupted by unexpected incidents that are diverse and complex in nature. As such, their knowledge of crisis leadership roles and competencies is critical for schools’ effectiveness in an era of crisis management. The study draws on complex adaptive system theory (CAST) to explore the roles necessary for school leaders to become crisis leaders and analyze school leaders’ experiences and responses to crises in the educational setting. This study investigates qualitative interview data from 20 principals and assistant principals who were knowledgeable of safety protocols and experienced a crisis in one southern K-12 school district in the United States. Data analysis yielded three main leadership roles: (a) agile decision-maker, (b) influencer, and (c) coordinator. Each role is supported with interview data and literature to describe the competencies that guide the action of leaders as they respond to and manage a crisis. The roles support school leaders in reshaping their understanding of a crisis leader, and the competencies explain the actions during crisis response for a school leader. Exploring school leadership roles to manage a crisis in the K-12 system contributes to the literature on crisis leadership in the educational setting during a crisis.