Leadership, learning and lockdown: First thoughts on lessons for leadership from the coronavirus crisis
A new paper from FETL reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on education leadership and considers what lessons can be learned as we look towards an uncertain and, almost certainly, very different future
The Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) has published a new paper highlighting the challenges faced by the education system, and education leaders, in particular, in responding to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown.
This FETL monograph, Leadership, learning and lockdown: First thoughts on lessons for leadership from the coronavirus crisis, by Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, gives an inside view of how staff, leaders and institutions are coping with the unprecedented circumstances in which they find themselves.
The crisis has obliged education institutions to adopt new ways of working, almost overnight. This paper gives draws lessons from the crisis for leaders and learning, outlining cautious but informed conclusions about the ‘new normal’ that will emerge from the pandemic.
Dame Ruth Silver, President of FETL, said: ‘This is a hugely welcome contribution that reflects on the challenges the COVID-19 crisis has posed for learning and its leaders, and asks what it can tell us about leadership and the future of education. The transition from face-to-face teaching to online and distance learning placed significant and unprecedented demands on leaders, their institutions and staff. The response in further education, and in the education system more generally, has been remarkable, but there are also important lessons to be learned from all of this, and this FETL monograph begins the process.
