Educational Leadership in Greece during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

The subject of this paper is a discussion on the treatment of the Covid-19 pandemic in the educational system of Greece. More specifically, it focuses on the policies and practices implemented by the principals of secondary education schools regarding the health crisis management in the school environment. The paper studies the actions concerning the administration of online teaching during the March-May 2020 period, as well as the reopening of schools in September after the first phase of the pandemic. Despite the difficulties, problems and various obstacles that the leaders met, it is expressed that certain positive elements can arise from the “experience” of the health crisis in education. At the same time, reference will be made to the policies and mandates of the Ministry of Education. So, the approach of the “leaders’ practices” on a central and local level includes: 1) the organization and coordination of e-learning and 2) the challenges faced by secondary education principals during the conventional teaching period.