LEADING THROUGH DISASTERS: CRISIS LEADERSHIP OF SCHOOL HEADS IN SCHOOL PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY
Keywords:
Crisis Leadership, School Heads, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Response, Disaster Recovery, School Resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Descriptive-Correlational Research, Maribojoc District, Bohol, PhilippinesAbstract
Typhoons and other climate-related hazards repeatedly disrupt schooling in the Philippines, yet few studies examine how the crisis leadership of school heads relates to school preparedness, response, and recovery in typhoon-prone areas. This study examined the crisis leadership practices of school heads and their relationship with school resilience in selected public schools in Maribojoc District, Division of Bohol, during school year 2025–2026. Specifically, it determined the level of crisis leadership in terms of disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster recovery; assessed the level of school resilience; tested the relationship between crisis leadership and school resilience; and developed an enhancement plan based on the findings. A descriptive-correlational research design was used. Seventy teacher-respondents who were directly involved in school operations and disaster preparedness activities were selected through purposive sampling from three public schools. Data were gathered with a structured, researcher-made questionnaire based on relevant literature, frameworks, and disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) policies. Frequency and percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, and Spearman’s rank-order correlation were used to analyze the data. School heads demonstrated effective crisis leadership in disaster preparedness (grand mean = 4.146, Agree), disaster response (4.403, Strongly Agree), and disaster recovery (4.411, Strongly Agree). The schools showed a very high level of resilience in preparedness planning (4.290), emergency response capability (4.438), and recovery mechanisms (4.362), all interpreted as To a Very Great Extent. Crisis leadership had a very weak, positive, and statistically non-significant relationship with school resilience (Spearman’s ρ = 0.092, p = .450). School heads were perceived as effective crisis leaders, and the schools as highly resilient, but crisis leadership alone was not significantly related to school resilience, suggesting that other factors also shape resilience. A Contextualized Crisis Leadership Plan is proposed to strengthen crisis leadership, disaster preparedness, stakeholder coordination, and school resilience.
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