Academic interests
- Educational leadership
- Governance in education
- Learning and education
- Curriculum studies
Teaching
I teach at the master's degree program in educational leadership and the national principal preparation program at the Department of Teacher Education and School Research (ILS)
Academic background and work experience
Cooperation
The master’s thesis from Autumn 2022 was a part of the project EVA2020 and contributed to knowledge about how schools and municipalities realized the new curriculum (LK20)
Publications
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad & Gunnulfsen, Ann Elisabeth
(2025).
School leadership: Dilemmas in dealing with crises.
Educational Management Administration & Leadership.
ISSN 1741-1432.
p. 1–19.
doi:
10.1177/17411432251325099.
Full text in Research Archive
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This paper examines peer-reviewed research articles from Western countries on school leadership in times of crisis published from 2013 to 2024. The objective of this review is to enhance our understanding of the features of school-level crises, the challenges principals face, and the effective roles and actions they undertake during such events. We aim to contribute to the existing body of research by uncovering the dilemmas school leaders encounter when managing crises. The literature review identified 51 relevant articles across 14 countries, 32 of which are about principal leadership amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the findings, four dilemmas have been discussed: (1) whether to prioritize individual power and responsibility over shared leadership, (2) whether to render care and support or strictly fulfill managerial duties, (3) whether to be true to one's core values and beliefs or respond quickly and (4) whether to give up control or provide stability amid constant uncertainty. Our findings indicate that, during crises, school leaders should strike a balance between exercising individual power and facilitating collaboration, between relational aspects and operational expectations, between individual and collective decision-making, and between being in constant uncertainty and providing predictability.
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad & Abrahamsen, Hedvig Neerland
(2026).
Power Dynamics in Navigating School Crisis.
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The study enhances understanding of the implications of school leadership and governance in times of crisis, highlighting contributions to future educational leadership research and the international academic field.
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad & Gunnulfsen, Ann Elisabeth
(2026).
Navigering gjennom kriser i skolen: Et nytt kapittel i utdanningsledelse?
Skolelederen.
ISSN 0802-2062.
Nr.1 2026,
p. 50–54.
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Artikkelen undersøker hvordan skoleledere kan håndtere kriser i skolen, med utgangspunkt i en bred internasjonal litteraturgjennomgang av lederes erfaringer fra ulike typer kriser, inkludert covid-19-pandemien, naturkatastrofer og alvorlige enkelthendelser ved skoler. Studien analyserer særlig spenningen mellom teknisk/autoritære og relasjonelle/kollektive former for ledelse i krisesituasjoner.
Funnene viser at tradisjonelle, hierarkiske og prosedyrerettede tilnærminger som kan fungere i «normaltilstand», ofte kommer til kort når krisen rammer. Artikkelen argumenterer for at skolers kriseberedskap i stor grad bygges i det daglige gjennom tillitsbasert ledelse, åpne kommunikasjonsformer, deltakende beslutningsprosesser og sterke profesjonelle læringsfellesskap. Forfatterne diskuterer hva det kan bety å «forberede seg på det uforberedte» i en norsk kontekst, og peker på hvordan hverdagsledelse, relasjonell kompetanse og et tydelig kollektivt «vi» mellom elever, ansatte og foresatte kan styrke skolers motstandskraft og håndtering av framtidige kriser.
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad & Abrahamsen, Hedvig Neerland
(2025).
School Leadership and Power Dynamics in Navigating Crisis.
Full text in Research Archive
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad & Gunnulfsen, Ann Elisabeth
(2025).
School Principal Leadership: Dilemmas in Dealing with Crisis
A literature review.
Full text in Research Archive
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad & Gunnulfsen, Ann Elisabeth
(2025).
Paper presentation "Educational Leadership: Dilemmas in dealing with crises" in session "Leading in Chaos: Crisis and the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Full text in Research Archive
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad & Gunnulfsen, Ann Elisabeth
(2025).
i-Presentation Gallery, PowerPoint "School Leadership: Dilemmas in Dealing with Crises.
Full text in Research Archive
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Welle, Kjersti Beate Rørstad
(2024).
Sosial bærekraft i håndtering av kriser i skolen: tillit, tilhørighet og samarbeid.
Full text in Research Archive
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View all works in NVA
Published
Oct. 13, 2023 3:07 PM
- Last modified
Jan. 17, 2024 12:30 PM
