A Meta-Synthesis Analysis of the Role of Resilience in Educational Leadership in Schools
Keywords:
individual resilience, organizational resilience, educational leadership, organizational learningAbstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of school principals’ individual resilience and schools’ organizational resilience in strengthening educational leadership and improving school performance. The present research employed a meta-synthesis and qualitative–analytical methodology. In the first stage, 110 articles related to resilience and educational leadership were identified, and based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 27 articles were selected for final analysis. Data were extracted using thematic coding and were subsequently analyzed and synthesized in the form of main themes and sub-themes in order to identify key components of resilience and their relationships with educational leadership styles. The findings indicated that principals’ individual resilience—including flexibility, crisis management, sustainable decision-making, emotional resilience, self-awareness, and communication skills—plays a significant role in the effective leadership of schools. Schools’ organizational resilience also encompasses supportive networks, a culture of collaboration, organizational learning, task redesign, and psychosocial support, which contribute to strengthening principals’ individual resilience and enhancing the quality of student learning. Moreover, ethical, transformational, and participatory leadership styles were found to play a reinforcing role in shaping both individual and organizational resilience. The conclusions of the study suggest that resilience is not merely an individual trait but also an important organizational capability that leads to sustainability, leadership effectiveness, and improvement of the learning environment. The contributions of this research include proposing strategies for principals’ professional development, strengthening a supportive organizational culture, and designing managerial policies aimed at enhancing school resilience.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Maryam Shojaheidari (Author); Rafigh Hasani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
