Purpose: This paper presents a review of empirical research on educational leadership during times of crises in K–12 schools. This review aimed to map the recent literature and identify key characteristics of educational leadership during crises to understand how this type of leadership is different from current understandings.Design/methodology/approach: A scoping review of empirical research from 2010 to 2020 on how school leaders have managed and responded to crises in K-12 was completed. The empirical research was analysed and synthesised by using the preview, question, read and summarise (PQRS) system.Findings: The findings draw attention to the fact that the notion of crisis leadership has been a neglected aspect of educational leadership research. Additionally, the review reveals six emerging characteristics which depict how school leadership has been enacted during different types of crisis across a range of contexts and crisis phases.Originality/value: The findings add to current practical understandings of educational leadership by illustrating the complexity and multi-layered nature of leading during times of crisis. Furthermore, these findings contribute to the field by identifying how leading during a crisis is different from current understandings. Lastly, they highlight the need to develop theories and models that account for how leadership is used to deal with the unpredictable nature of crises that schools across the globe face today and into the future.

In this article, we explore more than 100 Chinese school leaders’ views about gender, equality and the historical and social contexts of Chinese education that they have experienced. China’s success in international student assessment programmes is rising, and Chinese females are continuing a steady trend of outdoing their male counterparts at all levels of schooling. So importance grows for the world to better understand Chinese education and the influential roles leaders, especially women leaders, hold in that sector. Our research is underpinned by a theoretical framework that considers whether gender role-modelling by school leaders affects students’ beliefs about gender roles and norms because they observe adult staff in schools for years. We present data that reveal most of our participants believe they are leading schools in China where gender equality is being role modelled and has been achieved. We discuss and theorise about a form of ‘gender equality with Chinese characteristics’ which seems to value a rigid gender binary with different, gendered expectations for adults. Finally, we consider whether Chinese school leaders may be reinforcing rather than changing gender inequality, even with the best intentions that they do not.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to education and highlighted the importance of effective leadership during times of crisis. This paper considers the impact of the pandemic on school leaders in Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand. A secondary analysis of data from five interpretivist, qualitative studies was conducted. The aim of the study was to investigate the similarities and differences between the leaders’ experiences across school settings, states/provinces, and countries. Our findings place renewed importance on understanding the role of schools within the community and the vital role school leaders play in helping schools respond to volatile and dynamic circumstances. The findings show how leaders’ roles and responsibilities adapted to respond quickly and effectively to the urgency of the crisis, regardless of the context. Furthermore, common practices such as attending to wellbeing and providing clear and timely communication were revealed. The analysis also revealed some interesting nuances in the leaders’ responses because of the duration of the crisis, the particular needs of the community, and government requirements. Papers like this provide insights into what leaders do and how schools and systems might prepare and support leaders to lead during times of crisis.

Internationally, research has repeatedly highlighted the marginal and apparently precarious position of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in schools. It has also consistently identified staffing as a key concern in relation to prospects for quality teaching and learning. This paper reports on mixed-methods research that has specifically addressed these concerns in exploring current staffing for health education (HE) in Western Australia (WA). The research sample for the study comprised 75 teachers. The data presented raises serious questions about the capacity of schools and teachers to deliver on national policy intentions to provide all Australian children with an education that effectively supports their current and future health and well-being. Discussion of data addresses professional standards for teachers, teacher preparation in HPE and professional learning for teachers. Developments in all of these areas are identified as necessary to position HE as a key site for meaningful and valuable health learning.

This article reflects on the effect of gatekeepers, guides and ghosts on gaining access to research participants and field sites. Using a critically reflective approach, we examine our role as researchers and the roles of intermediaries in the process to access schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show how gaining access is a non-linear process that is influenced by the agency of researchers and intermediaries at different contextual levels. Our analysis probes past research on gatekeepers, develops the emerging research on the role of guides and advances current understandings by introducing the concept of ghosts. Given the lack of detailed, contextualised accounts on how researchers gain access to schools during or after a crisis, our experiences add to current understandings by providing an ‘on the ground’ account on how research can be stymied or end with mixed results when it is viewed as a difficult undertaking.