Temporary shocks, stable beliefs: A three-wave longitudinal study of school leaders’ self-efficacy and work engagement across the COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2022)

The COVID-19 pandemic represented an environmental jolt that challenged school leaders’ functioning under conditions of uncertainty and resource constraints, yet longitudinal evidence on how leaders’ psychological resources evolve through and beyond such shocks remains scarce. Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines the trajectories and dynamic interplay of school leaders’ self-efficacy (SE) and work engagement (WE). Using a three-wave panel study of German school leaders (2019–2022; N  = 405), we applied multivariate latent growth curve modeling to examine changes and dynamics in these two resources across the pandemic. Findings show that WE declined significantly, whereas SE remained stable. SE and WE were temporarily coupled during the acute phase of the pandemic but decoupled thereafter. These findings advance leadership theory by demonstrating how cognitive and motivational resources develop differently during systemic crises.