IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jadmsc/v11y2021i3p70-d592497.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Managing Open School Units Amid COVID-19 Pandemic through the Experiences of Greek Principals. Implications for Current and Future Policies in Public Education

Author

Listed:
  • Eleftheria Spyropoulou

    (School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Theodore Koutroukis

    (Department of Economics, Faculty of Social, Political and Economic Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace University Campus, 69100 Komotini, Greece
    Department of Economics and Business, School of Economics, Business and Computer Science, Neapolis University of Pafos, 2 Danais Avenue, 8042 Paphos, Cyprus)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of primary and secondary Greek school principals, regarding the management of their school units at the beginning of the school year 2020–2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study of 57 principals was undertaken, in order to explore the following questions: (a) What were the difficulties and obstacles that principals faced during the management of the school unit from the beginning of the school year? (b) What factors helped them to manage these difficulties? Written answers were analyzed using thematic analysis. Several key findings emerged, indicating that, in general, the principals had to respond to an unprecedented crisis context, under tremendous pressure, with limited resources. They faced a variety of difficulties, both on a personal level and in the context of their professional role. They also encountered difficulties above their role, which had to do with the general impact of the extended sanitary crisis on the emotional state and perceptions of the members of the school community. The results of the research have implications for the policy that is applied in schools in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleftheria Spyropoulou & Theodore Koutroukis, 2021. "Managing Open School Units Amid COVID-19 Pandemic through the Experiences of Greek Principals. Implications for Current and Future Policies in Public Education," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:11:y:2021:i:3:p:70-:d:592497
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/11/3/70/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/11/3/70/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vlados, Charis, 2020. "The Growth and Development Analytical Controversies in Economic Science: A Reassessment for the Post-COVID-19 Era," DUTH Research Papers in Economics 15-2020, Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Economics.
    2. Giorgio Di Pietro & Federico Biagi & Patricia Costa & Zbigniew Karpinski & Jacopo Mazza, 2020. "The likely impact of COVID-19 on education: Reflections based on the existing literature and recent international datasets," JRC Research Reports JRC121071, Joint Research Centre.
    3. Schneider, William & Waldfogel, Jane & Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, 2017. "The Great Recession and risk for child abuse and neglect," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 71-81.
    4. Vlados, Charis, 2020. "Development and Underdevelopment from the Perspective of Evolutionary Socioeconomics in the Post-COVID-19 Era," DUTH Research Papers in Economics 16-2020, Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Economics.
    5. Xeni Dassiou, 2015. "Greece in Economic Crisis: The Case of Health and Education," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 84(3), pages 145-164.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cátia Branquinho & Anabela Caetano Santos & Catarina Noronha & Lúcia Ramiro & Margarida Gaspar Matos, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic and the Second Lockdown: The 3rd Wave of the Disease Through the Voice of Youth," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(1), pages 199-216, February.
    2. Ohei Kenneth N, 2023. "Using ICT Tools and Technological Applications in this Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic to Facilitate Learning," HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, Sciendo, vol. 14(2), pages 116-136, December.
    3. Monahan, Emma Kahle, 2020. "Income instability and child maltreatment: Exploring associations and mechanisms," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    4. Hvidman, Charlotte & Koch, Alexander K. & Nafziger, Julia & Nielsen, Søren Albeck & Rosholm, Michael, 2024. "An intensive, school-based learning camp targeting academic and non-cognitive skills evaluated in a randomized trial," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & Jorge Enrique Ramos-Forero & Jorge Leonardo Rodríguez Arenas & Héctor M. Zárate-Solano, 2021. "Efecto de la pandemia sobre el sistema educativo: El caso de Colombia," Borradores de Economia 1179, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    6. Monica Ioana Burcă-Voicu & Romana Emilia Cramarenco & Dan-Cristian Dabija, 2022. "Investigating Learners’ Teaching Format Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Empirical Investigation on an Emerging Market," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-21, September.
    7. Samson Maekele Tsegay & Lucie Wheeler & Phil Kirkman & Simon Pratt-Adams, 2023. "Teacher Perspectives on Primary-Secondary School Transition Projects During the COVID-19 Pandemic," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    8. Samson Maekele Tsegay & Muhammad Azeem Ashraf & Shahnaz Perveen & Mulugeta Zemuy Zegergish, 2022. "Online Teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic: Teachers’ Experiences from a Chinese University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, January.
    9. Watson, Barry & Kong, Nancy & Phipps, Shelley, 2022. "Dreaming of a Brighter Future? The Impact of Economic Vulnerability on University Aspirations," IZA Discussion Papers 15539, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Piraino, Catalina & Santelices, María Pía & Escobar, María Josefina & Oyarce, Daniela & van Bakel, Hedwig Johanna Antonia, 2024. "Parental burnout in the context of the socio-health crisis and its relationship with abuse and neglect," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    11. Alderighi, Lorenzo & Ballatore, Rosario M. & Tonello, Marco, 2023. "Hidden drop-out: Secondary education (unseen) failure in pandemic times," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1293, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Melisa Bubonya & Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Daniel Christensen & Sarah E. Johnson & Stephen R. Zubrick, 2019. "The Great Recession and Children’s Mental Health in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-19, February.
    13. Dan Brown & Elisabetta De Cao, 2017. "The Impact of Unemployment on Child Maltreatment in the United States," Economics Papers 2017-W04, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    14. Agostinelli, Francesco & Doepke, Matthias & Sorrenti, Giuseppe & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2022. "When the great equalizer shuts down: Schools, peers, and parents in pandemic times," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    15. Moria Golan & Galia Ankori & Tamar Hager, 2022. "Non-Cooperation within a School-Based Wellness Program during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-12, June.
    16. Xie, Qian-Wen & Luo, Xiangyan & Lu, Shuang & Fan, Xu Li & Li, Shi, 2024. "Household income mobility and adolescent subjective well-being in China: Analyzing the mechanisms of influence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    17. Cátia Branquinho & Fábio Botelho Guedes & Ana Cerqueira & Alexandra Marques-Pinto & Amélia Branco & Cecília Galvão & Joana Sousa & Luís F. Goulão & Maria Rosário Bronze & Wanda Viegas & Margarida Gasp, 2022. "COVID-19 and Lockdown, as Lived and Felt by University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-10, October.
    18. Josep Petchamé & Ignasi Iriondo & Garazi Azanza, 2022. "“Seeing and Being Seen” or Just “Seeing” in a Smart Classroom Context When Videoconferencing: A User Experience-Based Qualitative Research on the Use of Cameras," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-13, August.
    19. Zhao Liu, 2023. "Face-to-Face and Online Learning in Higher Education: Academic Achievements and Learners’ Experience in the Chinese SFL Context," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    20. Luciana-Floriana Holostencu & Maria-Cristina Iorgulescu & Madalina-Lavinia Tala & Madalina-Ionela Iordache & Ileana Valimareanu (Mircioi) & Poida Georgiana Crina, 2021. "Online Economics Higher Education During Covid-19, A Case Study Approach: The Bucharest University Of Economic Studies, The Faculty Of Business And Tourism," Cactus - The tourism journal for research, education, culture and soul, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 3(2), pages 26-39.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:11:y:2021:i:3:p:70-:d:592497. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.