School leadership for resilient education systems: what is the role of professional networks in effective response to crisis? Think piece

As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe, schools were confronted by a period of exceptional uncertainty. Headteachers, with often minimal experience or training in crisis leadership, needed to react quickly to minimise disruption to learning. Education Development Trust (EDT) has been collaborating with UNESCO-IIEP as a thought leadership partner to consider how education leadership might be strengthened in crisis settings, as part of IIEP’s work on crisis-sensitive planning. This think-piece captures learnings from our dialogue to date, including insights shared during a webinar series hosted by IIEP during March 2022. Drawing on EDT’s experiences from the UK, Kenya and Rwanda, the following pages offer insights into how collaborative leadership and networks can, and did, contribute to effective crisis response, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.