Education, Literacy, and Leadership in Challenging Conditions and Emergencies: A Case Study Hatay/Turkey

Education plays a fundamental role in the personal and social development of individuals. However, in some cases, educational processes occur under challenging conditions, causing various difficulties for students and educators. Challenging conditions can result from natural disasters, wars, economic crises, or health problems. This research aimed to describe education, literacy, and leadership in challenging conditions through the opinions of teachers and schools. In this context, it sought answers to the questions of what it is, how it is, and how it should be. It aimed to analyze and evaluate schools from the perspective of principals and teachers in an emergency and difficult situation after the earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye. The research examined the challenges school leaders face in doing their jobs in an emergency or challenging circumstances, the nature of the context in which these challenges occur, and the strategies they adopt to meet these challenges. The context of the research was a situation study of urgent and challenging conditions in Hatay province, based on the opinions of school principals (in primary and high schools) working under challenging conditions in Hatay. The situation in question in this study is the management and leadership actions of education in emergency and difficult conditions caused by the earthquake in Hatay. This study included primary and high schools located in Hatay, facing challenging conditions. A descriptive analysis was performed to analyze the qualitative data. Leadership in emergency and difficult situations is an important factor in raising awareness for teachers, students, and parents to determine a common direction and combat difficulties in this process because challenging environments have a negative impact on teachers and students. It is possible to say that the most basic support element of a school’s different stakeholders in this difficult situation is school principals. It was concluded that appropriate and qualified coordination and the leadership of school principals in difficult and emergency situations are important factors. Competence in education and leadership in difficult situations will increase literacy in this area.