Supervised by Salem Suleiman Abu Hatab on 2026/07/10 Concepts 4 visits
Human resource management is considered a vital element due to its prominent role in advancing the institution and achieving its goals under stable conditions, through the clarity of tasks, roles, and responsibilities for each employee in the organizational structure. The importance of this role increases during crises that the institution may face, presenting human resource management with a significant challenge in shifting from its traditional role of organizing the workforce effectively to achieve the institution's goals with a high degree of efficiency and effectiveness, to providing psychological support and ensuring the safety of employees and restructuring work to ensure the continuity of the educational process in a way that demonstrates the institution's ability to endure and overcome crises.
The significant challenges faced by human resource management departments in institutions worldwide, particularly Palestinian institutions over the last decade, are considered a real lesson from which we learn lessons and insights for crisis management. The coronavirus crisis, for instance, was a true test of governments' abilities worldwide in how to manage the crisis and deal with its various impacts; some countries managed this crisis rationally and responsibly to maintain the health and lives of their citizens, while others dealt with it recklessly to preserve their international reputation. Thus, the differences among countries in managing this crisis reflect variations in crisis management (Al-Balak, 2024: 4).
The coronavirus crisis served as a wake-up call for all global and local institutions to enhance their preparedness through human resource management that enables them to confront these crises and mitigate their risks.
It has become essential for institutions to adopt a comprehensive approach that integrates human resource management practices with crisis management; crisis management is not just a response to emergencies, but a scientific methodology that includes proactive planning, risk analysis, and efficient resource investment. In this context, the critical role of human resource management emerges in ensuring the preparedness of the human staff to deal with crises and emergencies, ensuring business continuity and minimizing losses (Haddad, 2020: 70).
We will review some definitions of human resource management practices as mentioned in educational literature according to the contexts in which they are used:
The term crisis is of Greek origin, first appearing in the health sector; it refers to the turning point in a patient's life when their condition worsens, leading either to recovery or a decline in their condition within a short period.
It is defined by (Bouras & Belkhair, 2021: 36) as: an unexpected situation that disrupts an institution's normal operations.
Crisis management is defined as: a set of organized activities and practices carried out by the institution to identify potential and expected crises, prepare for them in advance, and ensure efficient and effective handling to mitigate their negative impacts when they occur (Lai & Wong, 2020).
We will be discussing human resource management in times of crises, applying it to the Palestinian reality we live in, particularly in Gaza before and during the genocide war that began on October 7, 2023, marking the onset of the crisis.
The genocide war was not the first crisis faced by Palestinian institutions in general and our educational institutions in particular, whether in the West Bank or Gaza; the educational reality in Palestinian society is exceptional due to ongoing conflicts and blockades, which compels education administrations (governmental, UNRWA, and private) to adopt models of human resource management characterized by extreme decentralization and reliance on psychological and social capital.
The crisis that exceeded all expectations lasted an unprecedented period; from the very first moment, there was a shift in the working structure in the educational field, whether concerning staff in public schools or in the schools of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees; for instance, the Palestinian teacher became an exemplary figure as they bore the burdens of humanitarian work while the educational process was completely halted, only to return anew as the educational process recommenced...