Leading Through Backlash: Exploring School Leaders’ Decision-making Experiences While Navigating Competing Stakeholder Demands on Socially Contentious Issues

This qualitative study explores how school leaders navigate stakeholder backlash surrounding socially contentious issues. It examines leaders’ decision-making experiences as they respond to competing stakeholder demands, polarization, and public pressure. The study considers how leaders interpret contested situations, manage relational and organizational tensions, and draw on professional experience, emotional regulation, trust, and contextual judgment when making decisions. Findings contribute to understanding educational leadership under conditions of turbulence and stakeholder conflict.