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Crisis Management in Schools: Evidence-based Postvention
Abstract
Critical incidents in or involving schools include shootings, stabbings, other forms of homicide, terrorist activity, suicide, road traffic accidents, major fires and natural disasters, which result or might result in death and/or serious injury to students and staff. Where crisis management plans exist, they might be based on 'common sense' or clinical judgement, risking worsening rather than improving outcomes. The relevant evidence base is scattered and of very various quality. This systematic review addresses these difficulties. This first part of the review considers definitions, prevention (resilience building and mental health promotion), preparation (planning, education, training and practice) and response (prompt implementation of effective actions and mobilisation of appropriate resources). The beginnings of an evidence base can be seen. In 'prevention', effectiveness has been demonstrated for some suicide prevention, anti-depression and resilience-building programs. In 'preparation', the literature is largely descriptive and founded mainly on clinical judgement. This is also true for 'response', but there is evidence that media portrayal of suicide generates more suicide. Although there is as yet no direct empirical evidence for the effectiveness of crisis management planning in schools, it would seem a wise course, provided it is not rigid and bureaucratic. Other implications for policy, practice and future research are outlined.
... Gronn (2009) argues that distributed leadership practices within schools may often still recognize one individual as a prominent leader, to facilitate temporary changes in leadership on a short-term basis. With the initial Covid-19 lockdown, school leaders everywhere had to accept government directives which demand nationwide compliance, removing administrative agency and autonomy (MacNeill & Topping, 2007). This reinforced a hierarchical, 'top-down' style of leadership from government, but it also made demands for distributed leadership from school principals (Harris & Jones, 2020). ...
... While each of these school leaders occupied a managerial role, they had all had been involved in remote teaching supporting colleagues under the new Covid restrictions. This provided some overlap between themes which emerged from interviews relating to their symbiotic experience of school leadership, their experience as school teachers and their evaluation of students' experience, reflecting the interdependent nature of educational engagement in times of crisis (MacNeill & Topping, 2007). ...
This paper examines leadership challenges in managing digital power and digital poverty, in the delivery of schooling during the Covid-19 emergency lockdown in India. The article suggests that although India is considered a global leader in digital technology, its primary and secondary school system suffers from digital poverty with associated tensions for school leadership.
The paper explores the nature of teaching and learning in a selection of girls’ schools in India during Covid-19. In the context of the pandemic, school leaders have had to respond quickly to remote learning, supporting teachers to facilitate the use of educational technology. Our research examined the experience of leadership in a cross section of schools from different geographical and socio-economic backgrounds. The respondents reflected on their engagement with digital literacy and remote teaching methodologies, and how the pandemic changed the classroom experience with little or no lead in time to adapt. The article examines how Indian women in positions of educational leadership perceive digital power or poverty and how it affects change and challenge in their leadership responsibility. Conclusions are drawn regarding educational practices operational at present and anticipate considerations which must be acknowledged to support virtual learning into the future.
... In the meantime, one of the strategies of organizations is to halt activities to mitigate or prevent the risks (Mitroff, 1994). Using the term "mitigation" serves to convey more concentration on reducing any possible influence from a crisis when it recognizes the danger which couldn"t be totally removed (MacNeil & Topping, 2009). ...
... Moreover, the leaders can use crisis classifications as a direction to identify a suitable crisis response strategies (Coombs & Holladay, 2010). Nonetheless, the response involves rapid enforcement of efficient actions and the utilization of convenient resources (MacNeil & Topping, 2009). Such responsive plans may not impede appropriate actions, but they should appear vital to understand whether the attempts placed into planning and justified by reasonable interest when the plan is accepted. ...
The economic growth and political settlement have to do with the issues and crises emerging in an environment. And kind of crises occurring in an organization can, of course, affect the stability and future of that organization. As the main aim of the public sector is used to be offering best services to the public, especially during crisis time, a perfect model of crisis management is required to maintain the current situation as it was. In this regard, many scholars have conducted studies different kinds of crises, impacts and causes of crises, and how to survive and progress in the crisis times. Accordingly, this conceptual paper explains and gives the main identifications of the term crisis. Further, is discusses the main reasons behind the emergence of crises as well as its impacts. Moreover, the paper discusses the Pearson and Mitroff (1993) crisis management dimensions as a suitable model to be in charge in such difficult situations. Finally, the paper ends with some conclusions and areas to be taken in concentration for future investigations.
... A study conducted by the British Council (2020) with language teachers and teacher educators in different countries has shown that the forced and unplanned shift to online teaching may be particularly challenging for teachers as they need to develop their skills in effective online assessment. Unlike previous educational emergency research (Salerni and Vaccarelli 2019;MacNeil and Topping 2007) concerned with the question of resilience and "psychological, social, and community dimensions" (Vaccarelli 2018, p. 29), the main challenge during the COVID-19 crisis has been to take urgent measures regarding both teaching and assessment during the lockdown (Anderson 2020). The current crisis has had implications mainly on high-accountability systems in the USA (US Department of Education 2020), on high-stakes exams such as the GCSE and the A-level in the UK (Lightfoot 2020;Miller 2020;UK Government 2020), and on end-of-year assessments in the countries affected by the pandemic. ...
This study investigated language educators’ readiness in coping with language assessment during the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enforced move to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). This pandemic prompted debates on language assessors’ roles in adjusting to a New Normal. While a good body of research has investigated the role of teacher assessment perceptions versus assessment behavior for many decades, little is known about the factors that may have impacted language educators’ assessment perceptions and practices during the recent crisis. To address this issue, an online survey was administered to 256 language educators. Pearson correlations and simple linear regression were utilized to determine if the language educators’ perceptions of (1) the official assessment measures, (2) purposes, and (3) their assessment self-efficacy were predictors of their assessment practices during this crisis. The results revealed a total absence of any correlations between these variables. The findings suggest that the assessment accommodations adopted by the teachers were not determined by their assessment perceptions. Other factors such as assessment policy and the assessment culture may have shaped their practices during this crisis.
Remote sensing has become a primary data source for fire hazard prediction, including other techniques, but not limited to geographic information systems (GIS), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning. This research paper aims to measure the vulnerability to forest fires and define pre-forest fire criteria in semi-dry climates. The study area is "Belezma" national park; which represents one of the most vital national parks in Algeria since it contains numerous rarest plants in the world; and over 20% of reserved animals; as a result, the park represents an example of fire prevention in areas of high environmental values.
The vulnerability is assessed by using various pre-fire factors: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normal Difference Water Index (NDWI), and land surface temperature (LST). Once the variables are generated based on Landsat 8 satellite imagery collected between May and August of the same year, the proposed fire model is implemented into a GIS environment using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results demonstrated that elevation had a significant impact compared to other factors; as a result, most fires are triggered during the dry period where the vulnerability is low in the highest elevation area; vice versa, the vulnerability values are higher in the louder elevation zones. Finally, the validation was performed by using two approaches: firstly, we checked the results on the ground, where we detected 150–300 years old non-burned trees in the low vulnerability area using the dendrochronology method; secondly, we geolocated every local wildfire between 2018 and 2020; then measuring the spatial correlation between recorded wildfires and the vulnerability using Moran index method.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore leadership and information dissemination during a crisis like COVID-19. The article reviews the information produced and published during the crisis. The author proposes a typology of information and categorizes messages based on their contextualization within the Caribbean environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The research method is developed around three main stages: a review of literature on leadership and information dissemination; synthesis of information to inform the typology; and discussion of the information reflecting the interplay between leadership and information dissemination.
Findings
The literature shows a legacy of deceit that dominates the history of healthcare for Blacks and Caribbean people. This heritage has helped to fashion individual attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic in the Caribbean. The research also highlights that in addressing the several typologies of information, varying leadership styles came to bare. The democratic leadership style was the most dominant among the Caribbean countries, while some illustrations of autocratic leadership were visible. Other leadership facets and traits fashion responses by the leaders in managing information dissemination during the crisis. The paper also observes a triangular system of information which highlights where influences exist between relationships (governments, media/NGOs and society) and how such relationships lend to shaping the behavior of others.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations on the research are based on the author's philosophy and interpretation. In addition, much of the information surrounding COVID-19 is novel and hence difficult to fact-check because of the unique nature of COVID-19.
Practical implications
This paper provides a better understanding of the typology of information during a crisis like COVID-19. The discussion on leveraging leadership strategy and competencies for dissemination of information during a crisis provides an optimistic perspective to guide leaders in managing information dissemination during a crisis.
Social implications
The typology is helpful in delineating the way society interprets information based on other crisis. It also helps with assessing the leadership styles and understanding potential tailor-made strategies.
Originality/value
The development of an information typology that provides insight into the influence that historical perspectives give to interpreting information in a health crisis in a Caribbean context. The research also looks at the strategies pursued by Caribbean leaders as they adopt novel and promising techniques to communicate during a crisis.
When faced with a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is normal for people to have various emotional, cognitive, physical, social, and behavioural reactions. When a university is facing a crisis, its students may be affected. The aim of this study was to measure students’ emotional state during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of the transition from traditional courses to online courses, as imposed by the state of emergency. Based on a survey which took place between the 25th of March 2020 and 30th of April 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, this paper empirically tested the perception of the students from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași regarding the fear of contracting the virus, the self-isolation, the negative educational results, and the effectiveness of online courses during the state of emergency and their impact on students’ emotional state. The results are robust and show that students were, from an emotional point of view, negatively affected by the lack of socialisation at university. Another important finding is that the fear of negative educational results also harmed students’ emotional state, while the perceived effectiveness of online courses proved to have a positive and statistically significant effect. The results also show that the fear of contracting the virus did not have a statistically significant effect on the students’ emotions.
In this paper, we propose using the face recognition software developed by the
Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Belgrade to enhance school security systems. We give an overview of biometric identification methods, with
special focus on automated face recognition software. We present the basic
steps of the face recognition algorithm taken by the software and the existing
methods from literature that could be employed in each individual step. We
then describe the face recognition software developed by the research team at
the Faculty of Mathematics. The software employs the concept of hybridization
of several methods in every step of the algorithm to maximize the advantages
of each method. We present the excellent evaluation results of the proposed
software, obtained using known testing databases from literature. We then
propose two models for employing the face recognition software to identify
individuals and control their access to school premises. We discuss and analyze
both models and focus on the process of setting the parameters for each model
in order to obtain better results.
In this paper, we propose using the face recognition software developed by the
Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Belgrade to enhance school security systems. We give an overview of biometric identification methods, with
a special focus on automated face recognition software. We present the basic
steps of the face recognition algorithm taken by the software and the existing
methods from the literature that could be employed in each individual step. We
then describe the face recognition software developed by the research team at
the Faculty of Mathematics. The software employs the concept of hybridization
of several methods in every step of the algorithm to maximize the advantages
of each method. We present the excellent evaluation results of the proposed
software, obtained using known testing databases from literature. We then
propose two models for employing the face recognition software to identify
individuals and control their access to school premises. We discuss and analyze
both models and focus on the process of setting the parameters for each model
in order to obtain better results.
Leadership research tends to focus on the importance of transformational leadership in normal times; there have been few studies to date on transformational leadership in a crisis. Leadership effectiveness was identified as the most important mechanism, particularly in times of crisis. This paper aims to reflect on the President of Indonesia's crisis leadership model in order to generate transformative leadership characteristics to deal with the situation. This study showed that Indonesian presidents generally exhibit strong idealized influence and inspirational motivation, but they were often weak in intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. What is currently needed by Indonesia in facing a crisis is a transformative leader who always strives to advance the nation and avoiding to prioritize their group for the sake of national unity and sovereignty, understands the problems faced by their subordinates, motivates them to seek new approaches in performing their duties, organizational tasks, listens attentively to input from subordinates, and especially willing to pay attention to the needs of subordinates. During a crisis, transformational leadership is necessarily required to manage the economy, politics, and society in Indonesia. This study compared transformative leadership from previous presidents towards the present president, Joko Widodo, through literature studies and examined the presence of leadership style for each president. Five indicators of successful transformative leadership must be accomplished, including strives to advance the nation and avoiding to prioritize their group for the sake of national unity and sovereignty, understands the problems faced by their subordinates, motivates them to seek new approaches in performing their duties, organizational tasks, listens attentively to input from subordinates, and especially willing to pay attention to the needs of subordinates.
This entry will focus on a model of intervention (the three-tier model often known as “Response to Intervention,” or RTI) that has become infused into school districts around the United States and is likely going to continue to impact the practice of school social workers and community-based social workers who provide services in schools. Since the 1990s, the literature around improving the academic achievement and behavioral functioning of school-age children has gradually focused more on RTI as a way to implement effective early intervention strategies for youth to prevent school failure. The principles of RTI have also come to be associated with a related but distinct model of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS, sometimes also called Positive Behavior Supports/PBIS or School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports/SWPBIS) and this approach has also been promoted as an effective framework to improve an entire student body’s academic and social, emotional, or behavioral functioning. This entry will discuss the history of RTI (and PBIS), the policy context for the approaches’ growing adoption in American K–12 schools, and the (still small but growing) evidence base for RTI and PBIS as approaches for schools to enhance student academic and behavioral outcomes. Additionally, the specific role of school social workers (and community-based social workers working in schools) will be highlighted, specifically how the growing influence of RTI and PBIS offers new opportunities for social workers to serve schools, students, and families.
In the last 10 years, schools (primary, elementary and secondary) in our country have been drawn into taking a position on how to, or if to, respond to the increase in violence that is impacting our school communities. Though violence may not be a new phenomenon to schools, the role of the school and the nature of that violence are new. Schools can no longer look solely to outside agencies, social institutions or other resources to deal with violence as it touches their communities. Yet, an ambivalence has developed within school communities as to the role of schools in reaction to violence and the emotional and psychological trauma it causes within these communities. This dissertation addresses these issues by bringing together responses by individuals and school communities to a wide range of traumatic stressors. It also addresses the theoretical, as well as practical approaches to trauma and victimization as it occurs in the school community in reaction to trauma due to violence. An extensive literature search, past professional experience of the writer, interviews with school officials and a survey of school officials were employed to gather data for this dissertation. The resulting data and discussion are divided into the following sections: A historical review of schools and violence; interventions vs education--the role of the school; cultural issues and relevant interventions; traumatic stressors as they impact schools, cumulative exposure to violence and critical events (episodic events outside the normal experience of most people); school based intervention models; school planning and implementation; critical event intervention and cumulative exposure intervention. Conclusions brought about by this dissertation include: The confirmation of the presence of trauma within the school venue; that this trauma is impacted by a variety of influences including culture; the existence of ambivalence on the part of educators as to the role of the school in response to this trauma; and the importance of and variety of policies and plans dealing with school based response to trauma within the school community.
This article describes five school crises involving alcohol-related fatality, self-injurious behavior, school homicide, racial/ethnic conflict, and community violence. In each case example, errors in crisis management by school staff exacerbated the crisis and resulted in deleterious consequences for the school, its students, and the surrounding community. We identify common themes of leadership, teamwork, and responsibility that are critical to successful crisis management. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Interviews were conducted with 65 public school children in Grades 1-5 concerning their understanding of and experiences with death and suicide, and investigating the development of the Piagetian concepts of life and age. By third grade, children have an elaborate understanding of suicide, and younger children generally understand "killing oneself," although their understanding of death and living may be immature. Children learn about suicide from television and discussions with other children, but they rarely discuss suicide with adults. The level of development of the concept of suicide is related to maturity rather than specific experiences. Implications for primary prevention are discussed.
This article presents a qualitative case study of efforts to initiate, implement, and continue a school district crisis intervention policy. As viewed by a participant observer, a description of the change environment and barriers to this school change effort are presented. Policy developer actions and other factors that helped to overcome barriers are discussed. Among the important lessons learned was that a truly necessary school change (such as a crisis intervention policy) will eventually come to be viewed as essential by the school community. Planners should anticipate this and be prepared to respond quickly when the time is right.
Critical incidents are sudden, unexpected, often life-threatening time-limited events that may overwhelm an individual's capacity to respond adaptively. Frequently, extreme critical incident stressors may result in personal crises, traumatic stress, and even Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. This paper presents a concise, fully-referenced, state-of-the-art review of crisis intervention procedures within the context of Critical Incident Stress Management.