The Impact of COVID-19 on the Educational Process: The Role of the School Principal

Abstract

In recent years, the role of the leader in the effective operation of the school has been vastly debated in the international educational community. Through a historical study of educational leadership, this research discovered that the position of the leader is constantly being reshaped and adapted to the current social, cultural, and economic circumstances. During the last year, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the educational leadership has had to be reshaped worldwide. The aim of this study is to investigate the issues that have arisen from the aforementioned situation, as well as to try to figure out how a school’s principal might apply the basic principles of educational leadership, in a period of crisis. This investigation was focused on the use of the qualitative method. The study included 88 teachers and 5 principals from Cyprus, as well as teachers and parents. Based on the findings of the study, we discovered that the challenges faced by school principals and teachers are primarily linked to alienation, marginalization, time management, improving bureaucracy, problems with technical equipment and distance learning programs. Solution to these obstacles seemed to be the: Empathy, teamwork, and decentralization of the educational system, which are all promoted by the principal, who occasionally has additional authority.