Eirene Katsarou

The COVID-19 health crisis has wrought substantial challenges on individuals, societies, and organizations worldwide that have significantly transformed the way people function in their workplace on a daily basis, resulting in heightened levels of physical, psychological, and social deprivation. Available empirical evidence in the field of education has explicitly foregrounded the negative impact of the pandemic on teachers’ well-being (TWB) and mental health as existing pressures became exacerbated and additional stressors accumulated in the workplace in search of the requisite TWB remedial interventions to be used in times of crises. As frontline education providers, teachers were not only called upon to confront difficulties associated with the shift to COVID-19-induced online modes of instruction supporting students’ academic development and well-being but also effectively navigate adversity and stress in their own personal and professional lives. Given that teacher well-being has consistently been reported as a key determinant of quality education and excellence ensuring the stability of a well-qualified workforce, this study uses a systematic review approach to investigate educators’ well-being status, identify predictors, and report on the effective strategies for TWB utilized by educators themselves during the COVID-19 era. Fifty-three empirical studies published between 2020 and 2023, collected within the PRISMA-statement framework, were included in the final analysis. Implications for policy and school administrators are also discussed followed by insights for future research avenues in the area of teacher education and professional development.

Contemporary school leadership has always been considered to be one of the most pivotal factors conducive to school effectiveness as well as a driver of change and strategic innovation involving the development of a strong vision, attendant goals and a relevant plan for implementation, monitoring and review. However, the disruption in the provision of educational services caused by the recent COVID-19 pandemic global outbreak revealed deficits in school leadership theory that were largely associated with the adoption of proper crisis management skills by the vast majority of schools’ principals to readily adapt to a new reality and effectively confront upcoming challenges, at both instructional and organizational levels. Interestingly, although crisis management as a notion has been substantially elaborated on a theoretical level and successfully applied in different types of crises, it still has not gained a sustained focus within the field of educational leadership, as evidenced by the notable scarcity of related empirical research. This study addresses this gap in the research via a systematic review of scientific papers, published within the 2019–2022 timespan and compiled under the PRISMA framework, reporting on the challenges faced, the crisis management strategies employed and the personality traits that were most commonly associated with effective crisis leadership throughout the turbulent COVID-19 era.