Crisis management strategies of school heads during the pandemic period

The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of school administrators about the crisis situations they faced during and after the pandemic and their strategies to solve these crisis situations. Among the qualitative research approaches, phenomenology was preferred, and hermeneutic (interpretive) phenomenology design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 school administrators working in private and public schools, and the data were analyzed by content analysis method. In line with the findings, six themes were reached: the crisis perceptions of the administrators, the crisis situations in schools the crisis situations in schools during the pandemic period, the crisis situations in schools after the pandemic, the leadership strategies in crisis management and the opportunities brought by the pandemic. In this context, it has been observed that the crisis management strategies of school administrators have changed during and after the pandemic, and they have integrated new strategies into their leadership styles. It has been concluded that administrators exhibit a more demanding attitude after the pandemic, tend to take more intiative and develop quick thinking, empathy and anxiety management skills. School administrators can try to predict possible crisis situations by creating crisis scenarios. Although there are administrators who create a crisis team in schools during the pandemic period, ensuring continuity will be effective in solving crisis. Managers can be advised to create crisis scenarios with crisis teams. Teachers, health workers, security guards can be included in crisis teams and responsibilities can be shared.