This paper highlights the strategic importance of practicing educational leadership within the school system to respond more effectively to unforeseen emergency situations and to increasingly complex, unstable, and uncertain contexts (Early, 2020). In particular, it examines what occurred in schools during the Covid-19 health emergency. Employing the potential of case study methodology and adopting a multi-actor and multi-level perspective (Stufflebeam, 1971; Creemers & Kyriakides, 2008; Scheerens, 2018; Moretti, 2022; Moretti, Morini & Giovane, 2024), the study analyzes the dynamics of decision-making processes and the involvement of various actors in addressing the challenges encountered, and aims to determine whether and how schools value approaches, organizational methods, or technologies to foster widespread well-being in their contexts during situations of emergency and uncertainty.

The paper presents the findings of the research conducted in Italy by the Department of Education Sciences at Roma Tre University, within the Second-Level Master’s Program in Leadership and Management in Education. The research team analyzed 138 case studies conducted by the Master’s students during their internship period at public schools. The goal was to examine how educational leadership was practiced in responding to problematic situations in schools of various levels across different regions of the country. Specifically, this study examines 10 case studies that document how the Covid-19 health emergency was managed in the school contexts observed by the Master’s students.

The content analysis of the case studies considers the following elements: the knowledge and description of the context; the type of challenges addressed; the reconstruction of decision-making processes; the participation of various organizational, social, and territorial actors; and the outcomes achieved at both micro- and meso-system levels.

The research findings aim to raise awareness of the importance of practicing educational leadership within schools, as it facilitates the development of competencies and strategies crucial for managing emergencies and uncertainty.

Keywords: Educational leadership, school system, case studies, emergency situations, uncertainty.