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The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of trust in a school community related to the leadership response to crisis.

This study was a multiple-source qualitative study of a single case of a PreK-12 international school called The Learning School.

The findings revealed the nature of how leadership influences and is influenced by context and community. These led to a discussion about two shifts, the focus on self to focus on others and the collective community, and a shift from a focus on self-preservation and protection to learning and growing together as a community. Communication, decision making, and collaboration in the community played a significant role in the community learning and growing from the crisis.

The study was limited by the nature of the topic, crisis in schools. The nature of crisis limits the ability to engage in inquiry before the crisis, and the inquiry was limited to the specific case that occurred in a unique context. The author proposes future cross-case research to develop an understanding of school and leader responses to crisis varies across individuals and contexts, and culture.

While there is a growing literature about trust, it is difficult to study schools in crisis due to the limitations of the topic and sensitivity of issues of crisis in schools. This study gives insight into the dynamics of leadership and trust in a school in crisis.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the challenges of instructional leadership in prekindergarten (PK) programs in the context of small and mid-sized school districts. We first explore issues that characterize current PK education including the need for content standards and curriculum, Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP), Mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and addressing mathematics anxiety and teacher-efficacy. We then turn to instructional leadership for PK education and the challenges that leader preparation and district program structures cause for instructional leadership. Often instructional experts have limited exposure to PK classrooms housed in traditional elementary buildings. Additionally, elementary principals are typically ill-prepared with the knowledge needed to support and develop teacher MPCK and effective learning contexts in PK classrooms. Typical preparation and professional development programs offer limited support for building principals as PK instructional leaders. Implications for building principals include the need to engage professional communities, utilize collaborative processes such as team observations, and leverage the collective efficacy and expertise of PK educators in their schools and districts.

The development and practice of school leadership in the Philippines is influenced by a rich history that has helped to shape policy and education in a diverse cultural landscape. Periods of Spanish and American colonization have challenged core Filipino values of community and kinship and shaped the way contemporary school leadership preparation and development occur in the Philippines. The role of school leaders in the Philippines is further framed by kinship dynamics, which have been consistently integral to the Filipino concept of self and to the way individuals interact with others. Kinship is the nucleus of the Filipino social organization, from indigenous groups to colonial aristocratic ethnic and social groups. The Filipino concept of leadership is derived from a value set that rests on both biological and ritual forms of kinship, which in turn drives leadership practice in communities and schools.