Administrative Communications Among School Leaders and Special Education Teachers During COVID-19

Abstract

The chapter explored administrative communications from schools, divisions, and the province as perceived by special education teachers in Saskatchewan, Canada during school closures. Through one-on-one online interviews and a thematic analysis, the present study investigated how and how often school leaders communicated with school staff, and what they communicated about, as well as what special education teachers were concerned about regarding administrative communications across the board. Most staff meetings were held virtually on a weekly basis with one exception: meetings were held infrequently at one federal school. Teachers felt that these meetings helped facilitate the discussions among teachers and school leaders about online teaching and learning. Ineffective communications between administration at different levels was a concern for teachers because some communications were delayed and insensitive to the needs of students and their families as well as teachers. Finally, educational implications for crisis leadership were also discussed in this chapter.