Investigation of the relationship between the leadership features and crisis management skills of school principals during the Covid-19 epidemic

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between the leadership characteristics of school principals and their crisis management skills during the COVID-19 epidemic. For this purpose, the research was carried out in relational survey model. The sample of this research, in which the simple random sampling method was adopted, consists of 400 teachers working in Ataşehir district of Istanbul in the 2021-2022 academic year. Personal information form prepared by the researcher, School Principals Leadership Styles Scale and Crisis Management Skills Scale were used as data collection tools in the research. The results of the research show that, the participants see the leadership characteristics of the school principals at a 'moderate level' and evaluate them as 'I am undecided'. The scores on the leadership characteristics of school principals differ statistically in terms of gender, educational status and tenure at the school. However, there is no significant difference in terms of school type, age and professional seniority variables. Teachers see the crisis management skills of school principals as 'low level' and evaluate them as 'rarely' during the pandemic process. The scores on the crisis management skills of school principals during the pandemic process differ statistically significantly in terms of school type and tenure at the school; does not differ in terms of gender, educational status, age and professional seniority variables. A positive, moderately significant relationship was found between the leadership characteristics of school principals and their crisis management skills. Leadership characteristics of school principals are a significant predictor of crisis management skills