Leading Through Crises with Emotional Intelligence and Critical Consciousness

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership Strategies During Crisis and Emergency Situations

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how emotional intelligence and critical consciousness shape the equity-focused crisis leadership of K12 assistant principals. Grounded in Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso’s (2008) Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence and Virella’s (2023) Equity-Oriented Crisis Leadership framework, the research draws on semi-structured interviews with twelve assistant principals from racially and economically diverse urban schools. Findings reveal how leaders manage emotions, foster relational trust, and respond adaptively to crises while confronting institutional racism and identity-based labor. Leaders of color, in particular, apply emotional and critical skills to sustain advocacy within resistant systems. The study offers insights for leadership training, equity-centered professional development, and systemic supports that recognize the emotional and political dimensions of justice-driven leadership.

Author

• Charo D. Darwin, Claremont Graduate University