The present case study explores the views of the institutional heads about the academic and non-academic activities, leadership challenges that they are facing, and coping strategies they are taking in this current scenario in the government-sponsored secondary schools of Bhangore block, West Bengal. The study adopts a qualitative method. All the institutional heads of government secondary schools in the South 24 Parganas district comprised the population of the study. Twelve samples were selected through the purposive sampling technique. Unstructured interviews and focus group discussions were arranged through the conference call, telephonic conversation, video call, and meeting with four respondents for a face-to-face unstructured interview for data collection. The major findings of the study revealed that the challenges faced by the institutional heads are mainly concerned with two categories, organizational and instructional leadership challenges, and some recommendations are given to cope with the situations for the upcoming days.
TopIntroduction
It is no doubt a matter of fact that the pandemic Coronavirus (Covid-19)(Pedersen & Ho, 2020) has made a radical change and new challenge in every sector across the world. After the declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO) Covid 19 as a pandemic, the Government had decided to impose a lockdown on all the sectors except some emergency services. Gradually in due time, the sectors began to unlock but the educational institutions from junior to senior remain the same (Viner et al., 2020),(Ansari, 2020), though different state governments started the classes offline and West Bengal Education Department ordered to open the class from IX-XII by maintaining the Covid protocol, but failed to continue it for the severe blow of the second wave of Coronavirus. Now all the educational institutions are closed, but the teaching-learning process is not stopped (Arora & Srinivasan, 2020)- it turned into online mode from centuries’ traditional chalk-duster method (Choudhary, 2020). Though the school has gone to the millions of households through the virtual mode (Horn, 2020),(Tripathi & Amann, 2020) and the teachers and the students are gradually adjusted with this, the institutional Heads are in a dilemma to conduct and supervise the systems smoothly as the pandemic has fundamentally altered school Heads’ work across the globe (Pollock, 2020). Being the leaders of the institutions, the headmasters/ headmistress have to face various challenges to make the process healthy for all.
Conceptual Background
Educational institution Heads play a vital role in the provision of quality education and in ensuring equity and equal educational opportunities for all learners. They help, create and maintain a positive school climate and culture of peace, tolerance, equity, inclusiveness, cooperation, hard work, order and discipline in their institutions for the benefits of the whole school community (ETUCE, 2012). They also have the opportunity to examine the professional expertise of teachers and how they know about learners and learning, and so the role of leadership as a learning relationship within pedagogy could be recognized and enhanced (Gunter, 2016). The roles of school leaders have continued to evolve in response to new challenges, including decentralization and more demands for accountability (ETUCE, 2012).
Leader and Leadership
A leader is a person who delegates or influences others to act to carry out specified objectives (Mullins, 2005) and leadership is ‘getting others to follow’ or ‘getting people to do things willingly’, or interpreted more specifically, ‘the use of authority in decision-making’(Mullins, 2005). In a word, it can be said that leadership is the ability to help and guide others to achieve their personal goals and targets. The manager simply can influence his subordinates to strive in their interests towards realizing group goals (Onodugo, V.A & Ewurum, 2013). A good and efficient leader influences followers in a desired manner to achieve desired goals (Nanjundeswaraswamy, et al., 2014). Herold Koontz stated that leadership is the art of influencing people so that they work with great enthusiasm towards the accomplishment of group goals. Effective leadership is the process of delegation and empowerment. Leadership is a dynamic process. The relationship between the leader and follower is reciprocal and good leadership is a two-way process that influences both individual and organizational performance. A sound leadership quality influences the workers in such a way that they all strive towards achieving the desired goal of the organization (Aibieyi, 2014). It is just a process of influencing personnel toward achieving a common goal (Hersey et al., 2012), it is the ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence and zeal (Waldman & Pearce, 2006). Again, educational leadership is mainly related to the duties and responsibilities of the leader to improve school management, as well as students’ achievement (Dina, 2013).