Eureka! Institutional Repository

This thesis explores the attitude, perception, capabilities as well as readiness of the principals of school units during a crisis management, i.e. the management of sudden events like earthquakes, accidents, deaths etc that could cause disruption to the daily life of the person facing a difficulty to cope with the situation. In particular, we examine the case of crisis caused due to a bereavement due to the frequency they are encountered in the school community and the significant adverse effects on the school population. In order to draw conclusions, a quantitative survey by the means of questionnaire was conducted for a sample of 114 principals of school units of Primary and Secondary education of Regional Directory of Education of Epirus. According to the results of the survey, the principals are in a position to identify and manage a crisis in the school unit they lead. They state they are prepared regarding the management of a crisis as in their majority they have developed a Crisis Management Plan and set up Crisis Management Task Force. Everybody recognizes death as an important form of crisis that can come up in a school unit and this is also indeed the crisis that they majority of the participants have encountered. Although the phenomenon of grief appears in the school unit quite often, what is transparent from the survey is that principals are not able to deal with it comfortably. The level of ability to manage grief depends, according to the survey, on factors such as the age of the respondents, the gender, their postgraduate education, and their training in Psychological First Aid. Empathy and social skills are recognized as the most important capabilities of a principal when it comes to grief management. Finally, the role of the teacher towards the grieving student is considered as important and there seems to be an imminent need for bereavement training both for students as well as teachers