Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

First Advisor

Trenia Walker

Second Advisor

Viviane Lopuch

Third Advisor

Dana Bailey

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented evolving challenges for educational leaders. This study will explore the crisis management practices of PK-12 public school superintendents. Specifically, the team will consider effective resilience-building practices as a means for leaders to manage a prolonged crisis. A comparative case study was conducted to analyze publicly available documents across two cases (Eastern and Western regions) in the state of Washington. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school communities only had access to publicly available documents emphasizing the importance of exploring forward facing documents. The analysis of the study was informed by the theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory with specific consideration of the concept of majoritarian narrative in addition to the conceptual framework of resiliency-building. Data was collected and analyzed for themes relating to the identified crisis management and resilience-building practices. The team utilized an InVivo coding process to identify verbatim codes that were then coded thematically to identify major themes. Eight themes emerged from the data after multiple rounds of interrater coding rounds including: (a) community, (b) collaboration, (c) resources, (d) racial equity, (e) communication, (f) social-emotional supports, (g) gratitude, and (h) perseverance. In conjunction with thorough research, the analysis indicated that in order for communities to build resilience, there must be an emphasis on community voice through collaboration with leaders. The study concludes with a framework for leaders seeking to implement resilience-building practices in their crisis management that support the development and maintenance of resilient communities.

Comments

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Download

Share

COinS