Exploring Crisis
In some parts of the world, crises are not uncommon. These may not be health-related as in the case of the current COVID-19 pandemic - they may be civil wars, sieges, terrorist attacks, or prolonged severe weather among others. In these countries, therefore, sustaining the education system in periods of crisis is not a new domain for middle-level and other educators. However, for the present generation of Caribbean educators such as Jamaican curriculum technocrats, a major crisis, especially one lasting for over two years is unfamiliar and devasting.
According to Eriksson and McConnell (2011), the world has become more vulnerable to crises of some form or another. Shrivastava et al. (2013) believe that global crises have become the new normal. Education systems should therefore be equipped to face unexpected disasters.
Trainor et al. (2013) note that some critical dimensions of leadership for crisis situations are “flexibility, communication, networking abilities, decision-making, urgency, teambuilding, sensemaking, information seeking, accounting, and planning.” (p. 38). The scholars note that these areas are “often neglected” aspects of leadership but are vital in a crisis. These skills are usually applied as coping strategies to reduce or eliminate stress in difficult periods such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Ramos Pla et al. (2021) have explored the type and application of leadership skills called Personal Leadership Resources (PLRs), which according to Ramos Pla et al. (2021) and Leithwood et al. (2019) are “problem-solving efficiency, knowledge of effective practices, systems thinking, perceiving emotions, managing emotions, acting in emotionally appropriate ways, and the levels of optimism, self-efficacy, resilience, and proactivity.”
Makwana (2019) note that disasters affect both the psychological and psychosocial dimensions of people although they have obvious physical effects. Very often, the mental and social effects of a crisis such as anxiety, depression, alienation, stress (both real and perceived), adjustment issues, fear, shock, helplessness, sadness, and grief are far greater than the physical effects.
Consistent with the position of Makwana (2019), this chapter illustrates the impact of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis on the varying dimensions of the lives of eleven (11) middle-level curriculum officers. It explores how they applied a range of coping and self-care strategies in order to manage or eliminate the stressors that threatened the normalcy of their personal and professional lives. It also assesses the extent to which these strategies achieved the purpose for which they were applied in each case and how leaders, including technocrats, can learn from these experiences by effectively combining strategies – particularly people skills- to manage a crisis. The chapter demonstrates that effective crisis management draws very heavily on people skills and involves the application of a combination of self-care and coping strategies in order to achieve this end. The recommendations at the end of the chapter provide practical ways in which middle managers, as well as other educators and professionals, can continue to apply the strategies and skills learned through the pandemic experience.
Curriculum Officers, in the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, were required to work remotely to support school leaders and their staff in a range of curriculum implementation matters previously executed physically. With a range of new professional demands complicated by personal and other challenges, these officers faced a growing number of stressors. As people face unexpected stressful events like the COVID-19 pandemic, they draw on different coping and self-care strategies (Johal et al., 2014). These strategies and their effectiveness, as applied by these curriculum officers in the pandemic, will therefore be the focus of this study.