THE ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN LEADING AND MANAGING EDUCATIONAL RESILIENCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

Educational resilience for sustainability refers to the ability of educational systems to adapt, recover, and thrive amid challenges, ensuring long-term viability and effectiveness. This concept involves continuous improvement and innovation to meet evolving socio-economic and environmental demands. Stakeholder involvement is crucial for enhancing educational resilience for sustainability. Research has shown that one key reason for the ineffectiveness of educational resilience for sustainability is the lack of broad stakeholder engagement; the government alone cannot shoulder this responsibility. Therefore, this study aims to explore the stakeholders who should be involved in leading and managing educational resilience for sustainability. Through the lens of a constructivist research paradigm, the study is located in a generic qualitative research design with the use of one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 38 participants from 12 stakeholder groups for the data collection and the use of qualitative content analysis techniques for analysing the data. The findings identify the political class, teachers, reform facilitators, proprietors of private schools, students, parents, the legislature, the government, traditional rulers, religious leaders, NGOs, teacher training institutions, teachers’ unions, and the ministry of education as essential stakeholders that should be involved in leading and managing educational resilience for sustainability. The study recommends involving all stakeholders in every facet of resilience-building to achieve effective management and leadership in educational resilience for sustainability. Such inclusive involvement ensures diverse perspectives and expertise are integrated, fostering a comprehensive and effective approach to addressing sustainability challenges. Moreover, stakeholder engagement promotes shared responsibility and commitment, ultimately enhancing the capacity of educational systems to adapt and thrive in the face of adversity, thereby propelling sustainability.