Social Justice Leadership, Equity, and the Digital Divide

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony H. Normore ◽  
Antonia Issa Lahera
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Social Justice Leadership ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Democratic Principles

To commit to Brown v. Board of Education’s legacy of advancing social justice and democracy, it is necessary to look at practices (i.e., the types of discourse, experiences, processes, and structures) that promote the development and support of school leaders committed to social justice, equity, access, and diversity. Leadership preparation programs need to provide the knowledge base for aspiring school leaders to understand how they ought to respond to the changing political, moral, and social landscapes in which they live and work. Of equal importance is the curricular focus on interrelating social justice, democracy, equity, and diversity so that aspiring school leaders can identify practices that explicitly and implicitly deter social progress. Furthermore, these school leaders ought to be able to develop a knowledge base on how to respond to these injustices in their school leadership practices. As leadership development and preparation program personnel prepare new leaders, the discourse of social justice and marginalization is an important objective in the curriculum of preparation programs. Personnel in leadership programs have an opportunity to take part in discourse about how to shape the quality of leaders they produce for the good of society. To this end, researchers offer critical insights into the types of discourse, experiences, processes, and structures that promote the development and support of contemporary principals committed to social justice and democratic principles. Included in the research discussion are the tenets of social justice leadership, democracy, diversity and the digital divide, digital access, and digital equity.

Holistic School Leadership: Development of Systems Thinking in School Leaders

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Haim Shared ◽  
Chen Schechter
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Maturity Stage ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Prospective Principals

Background Systems thinking is a holistic approach that puts the study of wholes before that of parts. It does not try to break systems down into parts in order to understand them; instead, it focuses attention on how the parts act together in networks of interactions. Purpose This study explored the development of holistic school leadership— an approach where principals lead schools through the systems thinking concept and procedures— over principals’ different career stages, a topic that has received little research attention. Research Design Qualitative data were collected via 82 semistructured interviews, six focus groups, and 27 observations of three groups of principals: (a) prospective principals— 24 students attending three principal preparation programs; (b) novice principals— follow-up on 11 prospective principals during their first year after appointment; and (c) experienced principals— eight principals holding that position for 5+ years. Data analysis was conducted by generating themes through an inductive process of condensing, coding, categorizing, and theorizing. Findings Data analysis indicated that the development of systems thinking in school leaders consists of five stages: (a) preservice stage, typified by an expansion of view; (b) survival stage, typified by a slowdown in the development of systems thinking; (c) consolidation stage, typified by a gradual development of systems thinking; (d) role maturity stage, typified by a systemic view; and (e) possible decline stage, typified by some degree of difficulty to think systemically. Conclusions Systems thinking is not equally applicable to aspiring, novice, midcareer, and veteran school principals. This study's findings may help identify ways to enhance and accelerate the development of systems thinking in prospective and currently performing principals in a way that is compatible with the unique features and context of their specific stage.

Preparation Programs for School Leaders

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce G. Barnett ◽  
Nathern S.A. Okilwa
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Norms And Values

For over 50 years, school leadership preparation and development has been a priority in the United States; however, since the turn of the century, school systems, universities, and professional associations around the world have become more interested in developing programs to prepare aspiring school leaders and support newly appointed and experienced principals. This increased global attention to leadership development has arisen because public or government school leaders are being held accountable for improving student learning outcomes for an increasingly diverse set of learners. Because school leadership studies have been dominated by American researchers, global program providers tend to rely on Western perspectives, concepts, and theories, which may not accurately reflect local and national cultural norms and values. As such, calls for expanding research studies in non-Western societies are increasing. Despite relying on Western-based leadership concepts, leadership preparation programs outside the United States differ substantially. Cultural norms and values, infrastructure support, and social and economic conditions influence the availability and types of programs afforded to aspiring and practicing school leaders. As a result, there is a continuum of leadership development systems that range from: (a) mandatory, highly regulated, and well-resourced comprehensive programs for preservice qualification, induction for newly appointed principals, and in-service for practicing school leaders to (b) non-mandatory, minimally regulated, and moderately resourced programs to determine eligibility for positions and induction to the role to (c) non-mandatory, poorly regulated, and under-resourced programs, which are offered infrequently, require long distance travel, and participants costs are not covered.

scholarly journals The Importance of Context in Social Justice Leadership: Implications for Policy and Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1989-2002
Author(s):  
Fiona King ◽  
Joe Travers ◽  
Jean McGowan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Social Justice Leadership ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
School Contexts ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Development Network

<p style="text-align: justify;">This article contributes to the evidence base on the significance of context in enacting social justice leadership. It draws on data from the International School Leadership Development Network of 20+ countries who adopted a common qualitative approach involving interviews with principals identified as being social justice leaders. The article focuses on four case studies of Irish principals in varying primary elementary school contexts. Findings reveal local contextual features significantly impacted principals' perceptions, actions, and self-efficacy as social justice leaders. While the actions and motivation of the principals is similar, two of the principals, working in school contexts where the values and norms are not consonant with broader society, appear to lack confidence in their practice of social justice leadership. This article extends the existing evidence base by arguing for enhanced critical consciousness of all stakeholders related to the personal, institutional and community contexts in schools. It recommends a more flexible and iterative process of policy development to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the cultural and ideological struggles in schools. Finally, it calls for governments and policy makers to take responsibility for and support disadvantaged communities as education alone cannot solve the issue of inequity.</p>

Social Justice Leadership and Family Engagement

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 754-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. DeMatthews ◽  
D. Brent Edwards ◽  
Rodolfo Rincones
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Family Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Social Justice Leadership ◽  
Administrator Preparation ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
The Status ◽  
Administrator Preparation Programs

Research Approach: This in-depth qualitative case study explores one school leader’s enactment of social justice leadership in an elementary school in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Analysis of interviews and observations revealed how this leader adapted her leadership to prioritize the severe needs of families and students in one of the world’s most violent cities. Findings: The article describes how the leader made sense of the community and its needs. Then, it examines how the leader enacted social justice leadership by addressing the out-of-school challenges that affected student achievement and well-being. Consequently, the leader’s focus shifted toward meaningful family engagement through adult education, community advocacy, and critical questioning of the status quo. Implications: Implications for future research, theory, and administrator preparation programs are presented at the conclusion of the article.

Ethical School Leadership: Problems of an Elusive Role

1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Campbell
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Theoretical Context ◽  
Educational Literature ◽  
Professional Responsibilities ◽  
Experience Teaching ◽  
Future School

Educational literature increasingly emphasizes the importance of ethics in school leadership and the need to recognize professional responsibilities as basic ethical imperatives. It further notes that future administrators must be engaged in preparation programs which highlight this neglected area and the prominence of their role as ethical practitioners. Within this theoretical context, and from the perspective of my personal experience teaching future school leaders, this paper addresses complexities involved in translating philosophical principles into practice within a prevailing climate of value relativism; it ponders the irony of asserting goals of ethical leadership while continuing to accept ethics as subjectively-defined values of opinion and preference.

scholarly journals Commentary: Grow Tomorrow’s School Leaders? Plant Some Seeds Today!

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Julian Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Succession Planning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
National Standards ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
The Uk

School leadership development has received significant investment in the UK in recent years. Programmes to support leaders at all levels have focussed on national standards, leadership behaviours and capacity building. England is now facing an increasing shortage of headteachers. This article provides a perspective on this situation and offers some practical ideas to school leaders for building approaches to succession planning in their own schools.

scholarly journals Implementing Multicultural-Social Justice Leadership Strategies When Advocating for the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Persons

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Brubaker ◽  
Amney Harper ◽  
Anneliese A. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Counselor Educators ◽  
Leadership Strategies ◽  
Audience Participation ◽  
Social Justice Leadership ◽  
American Counseling Association ◽  
Action Strategies ◽  
Sociopolitical Climate

This article explores multicultural social justice leadership strategies in advocating with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) individuals. In the current sociopolitical climate, there is a great need for counselors and counselor educators to become more involved in LGBTQQ advocacy. In response to this need, the authors developed a collaborative content session that was presented at the Multicultural Social Justice Leadership Development Academy at the 2010 American Counseling Association Conference. The session was geared towards increasing the knowledge, awareness, and skills of multicultural social justice leaders who are advocating with LGBTQQ individuals and communities. In this article, the content of the session and the personal narratives of the presenters are reviewed, along with the recommendations and considerations that were discussed. Additionally, audience participation in the session is discussed along with the action strategies that were collaboratively developed as a part of the session.

scholarly journals Current Trends In Educational Leadership For Student Success Plus Facilities Planning And Designing

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Hilliard ◽  
Barbara Talbert Jackson
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Safety ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
School Leader ◽  
Leadership Standards ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Special Programs

Many school leaders today are experiencing many challenges to ensure that their schools are successful.  Since the passage of No Child Left Behind Act, school leaders have been faced with making sure that all students, regardless of language and/or background, are successful on the state assessment test.  If students do not make AYP Annual Yearly Progress based on set standards, the school leader is viewed as not being effective.  The school leader/administrator is at the front-line for their school’s progress on a daily basis and just to name a few items, school safety, appropriate curriculum and accommodations for students, high quality instruction service to all students and utilizing technology to enhance instruction and management tasks (Lashway, 2003).  This research paper will discuss aspects and trends in leadership in the following areas:  leadership standards, leadership development, shared leadership, support for school leadership, change in mission, facility planning and designing, classroom configuration, use of school time, early programs, special programs, school transfer, use of technology and virtual schools.

Learning to Transform Through Interplay Between the Confucian and Western Cultural Heritages: A Case Study of School Leadership Development in Beijing, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijun Kang ◽  
Qi Sun ◽  
Lei Lyu
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Local School ◽  
School Leadership Development ◽  
School Leadership Practices ◽  
Beijing China

Taking a case study approach and utilizing Hoggan’s transformative learning (TL) typology and criteria as a framework, we examined the self-reported TL experiences of 12 local school leaders in Beijing, China. These local school leaders gained cross-cultural learning from a school leadership development program that was designed to prepare school leaders for education internationalization. Our data analysis indicated that these 12 local school leaders had experienced significant changes in their educational epistemology, self-identity, and school leadership practices. Further examining these changes at the intersection of the Confucian and Western cultural heritages, we discovered that these school leaders had developed an integrated approach to education, started to consciously reflect on what their social- and self-identities entail, and began the process of transitioning from conservative to appreciative school leadership practices.

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