Overview

How can early childhood directors effectively lead during a crisis? Crisis Leadership in Early Childhood Education explores the leadership experiences of preschool directors during the 9/11 attacks and offers a practical framework for crisis management in educational settings. Drawing on firsthand accounts, this book provides insights into key leadership strategies, communication techniques, and community support systems crucial for managing crises. Through a qualitative study of directors near the World Trade Center, this book reveals how leadership style and emotional support for staff and families shaped crisis responses. It introduces the Educational Crisis Framework (ECF), offering actionable lessons on preparedness, decision-making, and reducing school turbulence. This book is essential reading for early childhood administrators, school leaders, and policymakers seeking to build resilient programs and lead with clarity, compassion, and confidence in times of uncertainty.

Full Product Details

9781041129905

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Susan H. Shapiro’s moving portrayal of educational leaders facing the terror of 9/11 is thoughtful, intelligent, and brave. Her resultant Educational Crisis Framework, emphasizing community, compassion, and reflection, is innovative, timely, and reassuring as educators address school violence. A critical and lasting contribution to our profession!"" Jacqueline A. Stefkovich, Professor Emerita, Penn State University ""Susan H. Shapiro’s latest book is a critically relevant and structured analysis that offers a foundational framework for early childhood school leaders. Using the diverse experiences of five early childhood school directors who lived through the 9/11 attacks, she reveals key behaviors that made life-saving differences on that day. Further, she uses the Educational Crisis Framework (ECF) to provide today’s early childhood school leaders with thoughtful responses to turbulent situations. Given the volatile conditions facing today’s schools, I believe that this book is essential reading."" Steven Jay Gross, Professor Emeritus, Educational Leadership, Temple University

Author Information

Susan H. Shapiro is co-director of the New DEEL (Democratic Ethical Educational Leadership) and Associate Professor of Early Childhood and Special Education at Touro Graduate School of Education. She has led early childhood programs and inclusion programs. She has also been an advocate for early childhood education policy and has authored articles on crisis, ethical leadership, and compassion. She is the author of Interpreting COVID-19 Through Turbulence Theory: Perspectives and Cases from Early Childhood and Special Education, Developing Community-Based School Crisis Response: Case Studies for PreK–12 Classrooms, and Ethical Educational Leadership in Turbulent Times (3rd Edition).

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