Due to the tremendous attack of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, educational institutions struggled noticeably to cope with its associated predicament. In the initial stage of the pandemic attack, knowledge about Coronavirus and its socio-economic effects was scarce, and school leaders lacked adequate training on crisis management during a pandemic. Thus, the pandemic posed a dilemma and an ultimate test for educational leaders worldwide. This study aimed to explore the challenges secondary school leaders in Bangladesh encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their leadership strategies to cope with the crisis. The ‘measurement model of crisis leadership’ was applied as the conceptual framework. Using a qualitative approach and thematic analysis framework for data analysis, the study revealed leaders’ considerable academic, financial, and socio-emotional challenges. The leaders were found to apply certain crisis leadership attributes consistent with the ‘measurement model of crisis leadership’. However, the study identified the absence of inclusiveness’ in the framework, thereby proposing the inclusion of ‘equity and social justice’ in the existing framework since leaders' ability to ensure equal access to all students appeared essential during the crisis. Finally, this study brings the recommendations for policy-level reformation in school leadership training on crisis management in Bangladesh to develop leaders’ competence for managing risk effectively and maximizing risk-reduction actions required during critical times.

Teachers are expected to influence the development of certain attributes, including courtesy, discipline, accountability, and diligence among learners. These attributes echo the basic premise of the child-friendly school framework (CFS) and the ideology of sustainable learning environments. In order for teachers to contribute towards efficacy in schools and in instructional activities, studies indicate that they should be satisfied. However, it has been revealed that in some Lesotho secondary schools, teachers are not happy with their jobs. The reported teachers’ discontent adversely affects their commitment and enthusiasm. In order to reveal the causes of teacher job dissatisfaction in some Lesotho secondary schools, this study adopted a narrative qualitative approach design. This approach was ideal as it enabled 10 purposively identified teachers in Leribe and Maseru to freely narrate their lived experiences. The Herzberg duality theory (HDT) and the Transformational leadership theory (TLT) were adopted as the philosophical underpinning for this study. The inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data generated for this study. The findings suggest that teacher job dissatisfaction in some Lesotho secondary schools is caused by factors such as the use of resources for personal gain, lack of maintenance, intolerance, and habitual absenteeism among principals. The findings further suggest that strategies including teacher involvement, impartiality, and external school auditing could reduce teacher job dissatisfaction and instead create the opposite effect.

School leadership in Nepal is shaped by sociocultural, institutional, and resource-related challenges. This study fills a gap in the literature by examining leadership dynamics within this unique and diverse educational context. Guided by resilient leadership theory as a referent, this qualitative case study, grounded in a constructivist paradigm, involved semi-structured interviews with public high school principals to investigate their workplace challenges and coping strategies. The findings reveal challenges including sociocultural and gender biases, teachers’ resistance to modern pedagogical practices, and resource limitations. They navigate these challenges through strategies of humility, intrinsic motivation, and collaborative partnerships. The findings highlight the need for systemic reforms to promote gender equity, enhance professional development, and increase resource allocation. This study presents a resilient and adaptive leadership framework for policymakers, emphasising the need to implement gender-inclusive policies and leadership training programs to address the challenges faced by principals in their diverse educational contexts.

The transitioning of Teacher Training Colleges into Colleges of Education as tertiary institutions by Act 847 is significant for ensuring strategic management change. This research investigated the strategic management of Dambai College of Education in the transitional change. The study adapted the methodological framework of the “Theory of Organisational Change” to ascertain leadership strategies that worked well in contributing to rapid positive transformation and their impact and those potential strategies to further improve the College. The study was qualitative with an interpretive paradigm and nominalist ontological and epistemological stance with participatory inquiry design. Homogeneous purposive sampling was used to select 15 participants for data collection. Data was collected through an open-ended questionnaire. Thematic analyses were done. Findings under strategies that worked include effective governance, recruitment, continuous professional development, Internally Generated Funds (IGF), merit-based remuneration of staff, and enhancement of physical infrastructure. The impact made includes boosting the morale of staff, students, traditional authorities, and other stakeholders; ownership of responsibility; improved learning outcomes; more spaces and equipment for effective work; and the College's improved outlook. Strategies to adopt include more stakeholder engagement and integration of technology. The research concluded that the college has transformed positively and needs to further improve its developmental agenda by adopting hybrid change models.

This study investigates students’ perceptions and overall satisfaction with the management of the COVID-19 pandemic by their university. A qualitative study was conducted at a public university in Cyprus. Semi-structured interviews with undergraduate and graduate students were used to collect data on the perceived strengths and weaknesses of university actions and policies in relation to the pandemic. According to the findings, the main strengths were the university's prompt response to the pandemic and the specific measures it adopted to manage the crisis. The perceived weaknesses concerned unpopular measures, the efficacy of instructors, technical problems in online teaching and learning, and insufficient resources and support. Respondents were very critical of the separation of students into two categories, namely, the vaccinated and the non-vaccinated, which they considered to be a form of discrimination and exclusion. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for the management of higher education institutions at times of crisis, with reference to the formulation of educational policy to address student needs and to leadership models which can inform relevant policy measures and initiatives.