Pedagogical Leadership Practices for the Management of Covid-19 Pandemic in the Greek School System

The subject of this paper is the management of the health crisis Covid-19 in school units. The purpose of this study is to examine the behaviors and practices applied by secondary school head teachers during the first phase of the pandemic. At the same time, it investigates the educational conditions that developed after the health crisis and the effects that secondary schools received in Greece. The interviews were conducted in the summer and autumn of 2020. It concerns the period after the 1st phase of the pandemic and shortly before the function of the schools is suspended again in October. Head teachers were asked to express Journal of Studies in Education ISSN 2162-6952 2021, Vol. 11, No. 3 www.macrothink.org/jse 60 their thoughts and feelings about the health crisis and education. The collected data showed important findings of the implementation of distance education that took place between March and May 2020. The results of the interviews seem to show the inadequate level of readiness of the state mechanism to cope with the educational requirements arising from the crisis.


Introduction
Educational systems in many countries around the world have been called upon to respond to the new conditions posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, significant effects were caused on many aspects of the educational activity. According to UNESCO, the transition from physical to digital classroom has affected 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries (Harris & Jones, 2020). There is no doubt that the pandemic crisis has caused changes in the educational reality with both short-term and long-term consequences, which of course have not yet appeared in full. The need for more effective intervention of the crisis was imperative. For this reason, head teachers of the secondary education had to "review" their responsibilities and work in order to cope with the increased demands that were arisen. One of the most important factors for the success of organizations and consequently of teachers, is managerial leadership. As Yukl (2009) points out, leadership is an important role that head teachers should take into account during the performance of their duties.
The school system in Greece during the pandemic period faced problems and within a short period of time had to adapt to the new conditions. The school as an educational organization is part of the wider social system from which it is influenced. The work therefore aims to answer the following questions: 1) how the head teachers organized distance learning during the first phase of the pandemic and 2) which were their interventions in order to create appropriate educational conditions for the new school year.

Theoretical Framework
In view of the reopening of all school levels of education in Greece, the Ministry of Education gave instructions to the head teachers concerning the safety of the school community. For this reason, the Ministry designed and organized a strict protocol for the observance of all sanitary measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The head teachers according to this were the main ones responsible for their implementation, within the school unit. Among other things, the protocol included instructions on personal hygiene, information, providing not only psychological support to students but also a plan for managing a suspected or confirmed Covid-19 positive case.
Because of the pandemics and the need for self-isolation, many countries around the world have adapted their educational programs and teaching methods. "Face to face" learning has been replaced by distance learning through the use of technological means. Countries such as Italy, Colombia, and the Philippines have used YouTube, DepEd, and various other digital libraries as e-learning platforms (Lapada et al., 2020). Of course, digital learning had an impact on the learning process because not all students had the same access opportunities. As Beaunoyer (2020) states, digital inequalities are a form of social inequality. The result was that vulnerable groups of students were at greater risk of being excluded of the learning process. As far as mental well-being is concerned, in Australia, stress disorders were caused to parents due to the psychological and financial crisis (Drane et al., 2020). In Portugal, the Ministry provided a series of recommendations to head teachers on how to implement e-learning (Assunção Flores & Gago, 2020). The pandemic also pointed out that racism and all forms of discrimination must be eliminated in educational institutions (Hill et al., 2020).
Apart from that, the psychological impact of the pandemics on the community is more obvious. People's anxiety and stress levels have increased (Baloran, 2020). On European level the Spanish educational system was more vulnerable due to the increased socio-economical separation of the society and the difficulty of teacher-student cooperation (Azorín, 2020). As a result of all these factors, there was an increase in learning insufficiency and a decrease in overall school success (Chapman & Bell, 2020). Closing schools can affect some groups more than others. For example, the vulnerable students, such as the Roma, refugees, the economically and socially disadvantaged or people with special educational needs. In other countries such as France, Italy and Germany, estimates show that students will have a learning insufficiency of 0.82 to 2.3%. (Di Pietro et al., 2020) This is affected by the period of time students spend on learning. Moreover, according to surveys, online learning has a greater impact on primary and secondary school students due to the changing environment and the time required to adapt to it (Di Pietro et al., 2020). According to UNESCO, due to the crisis, there is a possibility that 23.8 million children will be left out of education as a result of the economic crisis caused by the pandemics (De Giusti, 2020). Therefore, it is about a chain of effects on social, economic and educational reality. The impact on refugees who are deprived of access to support services is also significant. School units in apart from imparting knowledge, they also provided important opportunities on the development of social, emotional and mental skills (Espinosa Castro, 2020). Increasingly worrying during the pandemics was the development of emotional disorders due to the suspension of schools, which in turn hold back school success and progress (Morgan, 2020).
During the pandemics, leaders faced new challenges and had to deal with many issues for which they may not have been aware of the proper way to manage. Some of them included the distancing among the students, the configuration of appropriate electronic educational material and the grade evaluation. In such circumstances the pressure on the leaders is enormous (Harris & Jones, 2020). In the effective management of the educational crisis, a crucial role is played by the school leader who needs to act proactively, in a timely manner and solve the various problems that arise (Harris, 2020).

Crisis management in the school environment
Crisis according to Caplan (1964) is a temporary condition that causes destabilization of the individual which is associated with a threatening circumstance and creates problems. It is about a situation that is not normal. Therefore, the existence of danger in the school environment, but also in a wider community, in addition to physical health disrupts the mental state of individuals, which leads to inability to control their emotions. The result of the crisis is the formation of stress, the reduction of self-esteem and the feeling of discomfort (Brock, Sandoval & Lewis, 2005, p. 14). For this reason, head teachers need to develop leadership skills to deal with unexpected problems. During the crisis in the school system, all the functions of planning, organization, staffing, management, control and decision-making are affected (Harris, 2020).
There are two categories of crisis classification, the evolutionary and the occasional. Evolutionary cases of crisis are associated with the age transition from one stage to another, while occasional ones involve unexpected events. (Brock, Sandoval & Lewis, 2005) Crisis management models or plans according to Jimerson, Brock and Pletcher (2005) include periods before, during and after such kind of crisis. Among the 25 published articles found in the literature, none of them concern the management of situations in case of health crisis in the school environment. Till today, the Greek educational system has not been formally developed and prepared by the Ministry of Education for an emergency plan on this issue.

Methodology-Research process
The investigation was conducted in July, August, September and October 2020. The sample consisted of secondary school head teachers, that is, Junior High Schools and High Schools. In total, 43 training executives from the Regional Unit of Thessaly and Central Macedonia participated. In particular, data were collected from all types of High Schools and Junior High Schools.
The executives were selected by the method of snowball sampling. The interviews were conducted live and remotely via telephone or using social media such as Skype and Facebook. The data collected were qualitative and emerged from semi-structured interviews. The use of qualitative research includes the experiences, feelings or judgments of the people taking part in the research (Verma & Kanka, 2004). An important element is the fact that when conducting qualitative research, the researcher recognizes the culture and the theories of the subjects. In other words, the qualitative approach enables "measuring what a person knows" about the subject under study, "what a person likes or dislikes" and "what a person thinks." (Cohen & Manion,1994, p.374). Therefore, there is a strong interaction between the researcher and the respondent.

Ethical issues-Research ethics
Due to the health crisis that has been arisen since February 2020 and continues to "afflict" educational organizations, the use of a mask on our part was mandatory when we arrived at school units. In some cases, the meeting was requested to take place outside the school, suggesting the responsibility shown by some of the head teachers.
We provided information to all participants on the topic and content of the research. At the same time, we assured them that there will be anonymity and that all information collected will remain confidential and will be used only for the purposes of the investigation.
Qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis.

Content analysis
Content Analysis is a technique used to systematically develop a text. In particular, it is performed for qualitative data analysis. The data were then collected through semi-structured interviews, which were then transcribed. From their elaboration the main categories and subcategories were formed. Specifically, the head teachers referred to the technological equipment, the technological skills, the observance of the rules of hygiene, the psychological support of the students and the cooperation with the competent people. With this method someone can analyze not only the apparent content of the material but also differentiated levels. In this process, codes are used which help in grouping the data. In addition, the analysis of qualitative data interprets the attitudes, values and behaviors of the subject (Robson, 2010). In other words, social phenomena are observed easier. Through the analysis it is possible to study all the communication elements.
It is important that in the answers of the head teachers for the individual spectacles of distance education and the reopening of the schools units, points of agreement were observed.

Distance learning
On March 11, 2020, the Greek government decided to suspend educational units at all levels. It was an unpredictable event caused by the increased cases of SARS-Cov-2 in the Greek society. The measure of suspension of the educational process with physical presence was taken to limit the spread of the disease.
The head teachers were obliged to organize the distance learning procedures according to the instructions of the Ministry. It is about a painful endeavor which has led to the burnout of both teachers and the administration. Creating appropriate e-learning conditions required leaders to work long hours, even outside of working hours. Secondary education leaders make efforts to coordinate and provide guidance to their subordinates. During the schools' suspension, modern and asynchronous forms of distance education was carried out. WebEx was used as the official implementation platform but social media also played an important role. Students who did not have the necessary technological equipment even tried to share the educational material through photographs. The lack of technological equipment by both students and teaching staff was an obstacle to successful implementation of such initiatives. For some large families, the problem is the distribution of computers to an equal number of members of the household, because parents as well need technological equipment due to working from home.
In most schools, e-learning, despite the problems, relied on the method of asynchronous teaching because modern methods required additional equipment and skills. Economically and socially vulnerable groups were more at risk of being excluded from the learning process if they did not have the necessary resources to participate. In schools where the number of vulnerable groups was high, there is even the problem of internet access. Therefore, we could say that distance learning has led to educational inequalities.
The family background plays an important role in the learning process since the cognitive level of the parents can function as an adjunct in this process. Students coming from developed background have different possibilities and opportunities than with students who come from a lower socio-economic background. In addition, parents who have various working circumstances do not guide enough their children on using the computer, because they are preoccupied by their work (Espinosa Castro, 2020).
The head teachers of schools in which there is a large number of vulnerable groups took the initiative to distribute printed material to students who were unable to respond digitally to the educational practice, which shows conscientiousness. Even at international level, there are problems due to lack of resources, which lead the educational systems in search of alternative ways of teaching. In Latvia, for instance, television and radio were used as educational tools. In Romania and Australia, the courses were organized with the support of large companies such as Google and Microsoft (Reimers & Schleicher 2020).
On the other hand, the participation of students in digital classes was up to them, since their participation was not mandatory. The organization and planning by the central directorate of the Ministry of Education was amateur. This fact proves the low level of preparation of the school system in the coming crisis as in other countries (Assunção Flores & Gago, 2020). The "voluntary" character of e-learning therefore created additional obstacles both concerning the grading of students and also regarding the objectives of the detailed study program, that is, the curriculum. Such form of teaching creates problems in the keeping the timetable by both students and teachers. During the distance learning period, the learning outcomes are expected to be low for various reasons. Some of them concern the optional presence of students in the virtual teaching space, but also the general absence of children from the physical teaching space with the communication relationships that develop in it. In addition, the teaching staff was not sufficiently organized to cope with the specific conditions, the students were not familiar with this way of participating in the lessons, the means were limited, and the digital interaction was more difficult. We could say that it is a vicious circle due to the organization and the lack of technological equipment.
In addition to the vulnerable groups who are most at risk of the educational exclusion, the students of the last grade of High School also faced problems in their preparation for their admission to Higher Education. Despite the sudden schools' closure, the entrance exams for the Universities were conducted normally.
The financing, material and technical support of the school units has been assigned to the local government, which, however, seems to be unable to respond in time to their needs. The local Municipalities did not cover the needs of the school units due to limited resources, poor planning or even due to the lack of importance they give to this sector of investment with the immediate rewarding benefits it offers. It was at the end, and not at the beginning of the distance learning during the first phase of the pandemic, that the Municipalities supplied the schools with some limited electronic means, such as tablets, which did not manage to cover all the confirmed needs. So, the head teachers looked for additional resources and turned to seeking donations from private entrepreneurs. Even now that we are in the 3rd phase of the pandemic, the government is unable to support students in providing teaching aids, for various economic, organizational and political reasons. As subject 20 clarifies: "Initially, in order e-learning to take place, infrastructure is needed for teachers and students. It does not make sense to have a will power and not infrastructure ". Although in the first phase of the pandemics the lack of technological equipment was identified, the state does not provide to fill these gaps.
The actions of the head teachers include training programs they designed in order for the older teaching staff and those teachers who did not have satisfactory relevant skills to be able to reciprocate. A special encouragement in the whole process was the rewarding of the teachers by the leader, something that could be characterized as a motivation to participate. The collaborative atmosphere in the team worked positively in e-learning as the cognitive deficit shown by some teachers was supplemented by the rest. In general, the principals tried to guide the teaching staff on how the teaching process would take place. However, its implementation also required the participation of the family environment since the students were under the supervision of their parents who should be informed. The collaboration between the head teacher and the family was important because it was necessary to gather the appropriate information to open student accounts in the Panhellenic school network (my school). In addition, the positive ambiance of communication among the parties involved, creates appropriate conditions for cooperation in the future. Specifically, subject 15 states: "I think I worked very hard in March to bring the children into the learning process. I talked to a lot of parents: I helped them set up accounts at the Panhellenic School Network. It was a very huge effort that I made and I think I have won their appreciation, that is, that I am interested in how the children will be involved in the process. That's why I think they trust me. " Education executives give significant meaning to psychological support, which is impossible to achieve due to the absence of the student population from educational facilities. The cold computer screen cannot replace the physical presence and benefits it offers (Sepulveda-Escobar & Morrison, 2020). This fact in combination with the various problems that students face, creates a negative effect on their mental well-being. In addition, in a similarly way students' stress does not allow them to develop some skills related to cognitive skills and school success (Di Pietro et al. 2020). Students from vulnerable environments faced more serious deficits because they did not have sufficient skills and time.
In schools with an increased concentration of refugee students, the problem of inclusion into the educational process was observed. The non-possession of the Greek language by the students created the risk of linguistic illiteracy. The transition from the correspondent level of education of the country of origin to the Greek junior high school was a difficult case. This was because students were asked to adapt new educational needs, which ultimately could not be covered by the computer. The "experience" from the first phase of distance learning, enabled the head teachers to evaluate the level of readiness if it was decided again to suspend the educational process with its physical presence. However, schools lagging behind in terms of logistics and human resources have reservations about the level of readiness and success of distance learning in the future. As the subject 32 states: "I do not think we are ready to attend distance education, we are not ready because there is no infrastructure at home." The foresight shown by head teachers in relation to the timely organization of distance learning, makes them characterize it as successful. The positive and cooperative atmosphere between the teachers' association, which created support groups for e-learning, contributed to this. Thus, the initial zeal for the implementation of the process was a positive element. To some extent, its success is due to the mutual assistance that existed among the teaching staff. From the Ministry's point of view, the organization was problematic because it did not provide clear instructions to head teachers and teachers, as in other countries (Espinosa Castro, 2020). The view of the head teacher 21 is particularly descriptive, stating: "The success of the distance learning is due to the colleagues, not to the Ministry. I encountered many problems and difficulties: every day they changed the orders they gave us. What happened -happened thanks to the honesty of the teachers. The Ministry did not give us anything. They did not send machines to the children even though they said as they did not have them, nor did they help the teachers. We supported this great project on our own because we love children and we did not want them to be left out of the educational process. " The duration of distance learning in Greek schools was about 2 months (March-May). Then, it was decided to open all school levels (primary and secondary) before the summer holidays. This acted as a limiting factor to the learning process because the students had become accustomed to the distance teaching method and became tuned out. But the relevant benefit of student socializing, and the development of social skills that resulted from the short period of the reopening of schools could not be overlooked. In emergencies such as the Covid-19 health crisis, e-learning can be complementary according to head teachers. In no case can it operate on a permanent basis for a long period of time. Head teachers suggest that distance learning is a necessary solution so that students are not left out of the learning process. The education executive number 12 expresses his belief about the duration and nature of e-learning: "I believe that distance education can be auxiliary, but in no way can it replace face to face learning. The distance learning could not operate on a permanent basis. " Regarding the secondary education during the first period of quarantine, the opening of school units took place in two phases. On May 11, 2020, the schools were first opened for the students of the last grade of the Lyceum and then on May the 18th the rest followed with the corresponding ones of the Gymnasium.
Interventions of head teachers to deal with the Covid-19 health crisis.
The beginning of the new school year after the 1st phase of the pandemic in Greece took place on September 14 for primary and secondary education. During their operation, the head teachers try through daily practices to deal with the health crisis.
Initially, many directors emphasized adherence to guidelines and prevention protocols for the dissemination of Covid-19, drawn up by the Ministries of Health and Education. The contact of the school unit with the responsible public health body, that is the National Public Health Organization (NPHO), as well as the information that was organized, was decisive. The intervention of public bodies seemed to be limited. They rely more on the knowledge of specialists and medical science. After all, head teachers as civil servants are obliged to follow a regulatory framework for the operation of school units. In this case, Plato's phrase "everyone should do what is right for him and not do too much" fits.
The head teachers emphasized the observance of rules of hygiene and the provision of all the necessary means of protection such as medical masks, antiseptics, uniforms and gloves. In this case as well, the distribution of means of protection to school units was the responsibility of local Municipalities. Therefore, the head teachers had to get in touch with them and ensure that, before the first bell rang, there were appropriate means of protection for the students. However, the leaders, acting prudential, tried to provide additional masks and various other means besides the ones provided, at their own expense. Vulnerable groups in this case were more exposed to the risk of exclusion from the educational process because they did not have the necessary financial resources to cover the individual means of protection. An important issue was that during the period when school units were closed, it was not possible to provide free meals offered by the Municipalities to students in need. In a live meeting we had during the period when schools were still open, the 39 th principal said: "The municipality gives 60 free meals every day." A few days later, it was decided to close schools, and as a result that students do not have access to the free feeding program offered by the Municipality.
The children, according to head teachers, were receptive to the use of the mask and the observance of the measures. The adoption of responsible behavior towards the health reality was the result of means of persuasion and of emotional influence exercised by the executives. At the same time, they informed and discussed with the entire student and educational community. The head teachers and the rest of the teaching staff acted as role models for the students. So, they set a good example to introduce the students to these practices. Thus, an ambiance of trust was built between the school community.
Naturally, due to the constant use of the mask there was fatigue on the part of the students. In this case, head teachers remained strict and implemented necessary pedagogical measures as defined by the responsible Ministry. This was because the crisis was health related and head teachers did not want to be held accountable and responsible for whatever happened in the school community. After all, the school is a miniature of society itself. It is influenced by the wider social environment (Pashiardis, 2014). The habits and behaviors that a child applies in the school environment are influenced by his social attitude as well as the views of the family environment on this issue. This is an accreditation that stems from the point of view of the subject 26 who states that: "School is not something different from society". For this reason, head teachers contacted parents' responsible bodies. However, it was normal for children to feel tired and emotionally stressed from long hours of mask use. In this case, the head teachers showed understanding and tried through advice and discussion to improve the mental health of the students. For example, leader 5 states, "A child may not be able to stand the cloth mask, we will try to ensure we have some disposable mask packs, or for children with health problems we will be more resilient. We will give him the opportunity to go out and calm down. Our job is to relax them, not to stress them. " Throughout the process of reopening school units, head teachers placed significant emphasis on the psychological balance of students from problems that arose. Even precautions themselves could be stressful. Head teachers, in accordance with instructions of the Ministry of Education, appointed a person in charge and his deputy, who were in charge of managing a suspicious or confirmed Covid-19 positive case. It was an intervention plan drawn up by the Ministry in emergencies and directors had to follow it. It was a way of isolating the case so that the school unit could continue to operate.
Of all the schools visited, only two school units had small classrooms and individual desks provided by the head teachers. This was one of the reasons why in several schools, students went on strike, claiming a maximum of 18 people per class.
Leadership interventions in school day-to-day life varied according to the type of school unit. For example, in Evening junior high schools and high schools, people who attend them have completed the 18th year of age. Therefore, exhortations regarding the observance of measures are not as frequent as in morning junior high schools and high schools in which students are minors.

Results
The leaders of the secondary schools in Greece, during the 1st phase of the pandemic, tried to organize and plan the distance learning process according to the orders of the Ministry without any previous experience and knowledge. However, according to the directors, there were many ambiguities in the instructions of the central management. For this reason, there are differences in the practices and policies they have implemented, depending on the needs of the school unit and the student population. The central and bureaucratic system of organization put obstacles in the organization and implementation of distance learning. In many cases, the leaders tried to act on their own and "escape" from the management part of their duties.
Regarding the reopening of the school units in September 2020, the actions of the principals concern the supply of the school units with all the necessary means of protection. All actions of the principals are aimed at the safe presence of all members of the educational community. During this time, the directors sought to set the standard for good behavior by following the measures and guidelines proposed by health experts to protect public health.
Both in the case of distance education and in the reopening of school units, principals in many cases "overtake" the orders of the Ministry of Education. They try to give flexibility in their actions in order to improve the learning and educational process.

Conclusions
There is no doubt that the Covid-19 health crisis has had a profound effect on education systems. It has created problems that are not only found in Greece but all over the world. The student and educational staff of school units, leaders in Greece but also all responsible stakeholders made efforts to adapt effectively to new conditions. Through personal initiatives, some head teachers tried to educational effects of the crisis, often acting as leaders. They sought to inspire and motivate the school community for the best possible outcome. Some managed to do this more effective and some less. After all, during crises the burden of responsibility shifts to the leader who is in charge of strategy, management and complex decision making (Netolicky, 2020). Important in the whole process of operation of school units and in the organization of distance learning, was the sensitivity and sense of responsibility of executives and teaching staff.
It can be said that the education system was not ready to handle the magnitude of this crisis. In most cases, the Ministry of Education acted retrospectively to support distance learning.
Results of the research also showed that educational units were not entirely ready to effectively organize e-learning on many levels. Students from vulnerable groups were more at risk if they did not have the necessary tools to participate in the learning process. The social, cultural or economic vulnerability of the family acts as an inhibitory fact to the smooth participation of children in education.
The absence of the state was generally felt in Greece because it did not offer the appropriate tools, both material and regarding knowledge and skills with respectively staff training programs in terms of using the technology. A noteworthy fact is the financial cost defrayed by head teachers for the purchase of protective equipment, covering the gap of the state. Head teachers and the entire school community express their confidence in medical science and the knowledge that comes from it, faithfully following instructions and measures proposed by experts. They tried to shape norms of behavior which were in accordance with health protocols.
In addition, all these pedagogical approaches of leaders in order to deal with the crisis during the operation of schools were remarkable. They made efforts to shape the appropriate educational environment at a health level. Special emphasis was given to the mental health of students since it greatly influenced learning outcomes. We could say that school leaders were invisible heroes of education. Sophistic philosophers 2,500 years ago referred to the dual aspect of truth. That is, for all issues there are two versions. Thus, in this case the pandemic on the one hand radically changed the traditional way of teaching, creating a variety of problems throughout the school community. But on the other hand, we need to consider the potential benefits of this crisis. It brought to the forefront a new method that can be applied to support the educational work. It also provided experience to members of educational organizations for future health crises, which can be used to design intervention programs.