Middle leaders as adaptive leaders: Leading personalized and innovative learning in times of crisis

This qualitative study examines how middle leaders (MLs) enacted adaptive leadership during a crisis. Positioned between senior leadership and teaching staff, MLs play a critical role in mediating policy, pedagogy, and practice, yet their leadership in crisis contexts remains underexplored. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 36 MLs, the study addresses this gap by analyzing how adaptive leadership was enacted in practice. The findings identify two interrelated domains of adaptive leadership. The first concerns leading personalized learning, through relational and pedagogical practices aimed at sustaining student engagement, providing individualized academic and emotional support, and navigating evolving partnerships with parents. The second focuses on leading innovative learning, includes developing techno-pedagogical knowledge via self-directed learning, and fostering professional development to build school-wide capacity. These practices reflect how MLs negotiated tensions between teaching responsibilities and leadership demands while responding to rapidly changing conditions. By situating MLs’ practices within adaptive leadership theory, this study extends the framework to the domain of pedagogical leadership in crisis. The findings offer practical implications for school leaders and policymakers, highlighting the need to recognize, prepare, and support MLs as key adaptive leaders in times of disruption.