‘People miss people’: A study of school leadership and management in the four nations of the United Kingdom in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted school leaders across the four devolved nations of the United Kingdom (UK) with a period of exceptional crisis. This responsive, small-scale, but UK-wide study focuses on headteacher perspectives on leadership and management in the initial stages of this pandemic, contributing to our understanding of this crucial period. The headteacher respondents met the multiple predicaments and situational ambiguities of the pandemic with a resilience which drew heavily upon the strengths of pre-existing structures and teams. They were required to provide effective emotional and moral leadership in uncharted and rapidly shifting territory. They spoke most eloquently of how they developed pragmatic, versatile and personally reassuring approaches to communication with parents, staff, pupils, and a range of external agencies, all of which were also facing extraordinary circumstances with varying degrees of resilience. The paper concludes by conceptualising the key elements of headteachers’ leadership and management, both inside and outside of school, at in the early stages of societal crisis.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Interpersonal Aspects in Elementary School

“…These findings extend on what has been described as a blurring of the professional boundaries between teachers and parents (Beauchamp et al, 2020), and further highlight the necessity to foster positive relationships to parents.…”

“…Another aspect is highlighted by the school comparison: The relationship to parents and the degree of parental pressure are important factors in shaping the COVID-19 response, and with it, the school's social field. This role of external demands has also been highlighted in by other publications on the pandemic in schools (Beauchamp et al, 2020).…”

“…This lack has been mentioned in previous studies on COVID-19 (Beauchamp et al, 2020). It underscores the relevance of the domain of interbodily resonance (Fuchs, 2017) for social relations.…”

“…Further, physical distancing heavily affected the constellations of interactions and relationships-with many "accidental" and "informal" interactions which had been important climate-shaping factors dropping away for all actors in school. Former publications have highlighted already this "missing" piece as a central theme (Beauchamp et al, 2020). Congruently, our interviewees named "school as a habitat" and "inbetween nuances" which got lost.…”

“…As emphasized by Beauchamp et al (2021), there are few studies involving the school leaders. They contribute with new perspective on leadership with data from the initial stages of this pandemic, discussing the necessity of enhancing relationships in the face of situational ambiguity and external pressures (Beauchamp et al, 2020).…”