IJOSHER Published Articles

Abstract Natural disasters pose persistent threats to school safety, educational continuity, and community resilience in disaster-prone areas such as Siargao. This study examined the crisis management strategies employed by school heads in the Schools Division of Siargao during natural disasters, particularly across pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis phases. It assessed planning, prevention and mitigation, preparedness, emergency response, recovery and rehabilitation, continuity of operations, and emotional and motivational support. A mixed-method approach was used, combining survey data from 116 school heads with qualitative responses on challenges, coping mechanisms, and best practices. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis H test, while qualitative responses were examined using thematic analysis. Findings showed a very high level of crisis management implementation across all phases. Prevention and mitigation obtained the highest mean in the pre-crisis phase, response strategies were strongly implemented during the crisis phase, and continuity of operations obtained the highest overall rating in the post-crisis phase. Most profile-based comparisons revealed no significant differences, suggesting generally consistent crisis management practices across respondent groups. However, qualitative findings identified persistent constraints related to limited resources, communication gaps, insufficient training, emergency-response pressure, and post-disaster recovery concerns. The study concludes that school heads demonstrate strong crisis leadership but require sustained support in resources, training, communication systems, psychosocial care, and stakeholder coordination to strengthen school resilience and continuity of learning.