Relationships matter!
A 2025 article in the Educator focuses on a research paper from Edith Cowan University, which examined what school principals say they have learned from leading their schools through crisis situations such as COVID lockdowns, bushfires, cyclones and flooding.
Among other findings, the principals reported that in crisis times they:
…prioritised the relationships they had developed with the parents and families and kept them involved in the school and ensured teachers had time during the day to contact parents rather than expecting this to occur after hours. In some cases, approaches to supporting wellbeing and relationships became a part of cultural change, showing greater empathy, flexibility and listening.
Most significantly for Relationship based Education, the report goes on to say:
The implication of this experience is a valuable learning that can be applied to “normal” times: when leaders prioritise relationships and wellbeing, they will strengthen trust and build resiliency that will support the school communities into the longer term.
Read the Educator article