Lessons learned in a crisis situation : the Joplin Schools' story

Abstract

Natural disasters affect millions of lives each year, devastating educational institutions across the world (United States Agency for International Development, 2010). This qualitative study was designed using a case-study approach to understand one school district's leadership response to a catastrophic crisis in order to gain lessons learned that could prepare other non-profit, public educational intuitions in a future crisis. The study, using the framework of Bolman and Deal (2008), identified specific areas within each of the four frames: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic that should be considered when responding to a major disaster first-hand. The findings include several lessons learned that may guide other leaders in responding to a crisis.

Non-Academic Assessment in the Era of COVID-19: Utilizing Bolman and Deal’s Four Frames

“…Each frame provides a different lens for how to approach leadership, either for entire systems or the processes within systems. This framework is especially useful in crisis response due to its comprehensive nature and holistic consideration of the complexity of organizational systems (Goswick, 2016). The non-academic assessment office opted for this model due to previous success in leveraging the four frames in prior crisis response and change management scenarios.…”