Picking a hill to die on: discreet activism, leadership and social justice in education

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 569-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Ryan ◽  
Stephanie Tuters
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Central Office ◽  
Department Heads ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vice Principals ◽  
Power Differentials ◽  
Canadian City ◽  
Harsh Reality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a study that explores the discreet activist strategies of educational leaders who promote social justice. Design/methodology/approach Part of a larger project, this study employed qualitative methods. In particular, researchers interviewed 26 leaders – principals, vice principals, department heads, and central office officials who presided over both homogeneous and diverse schools, departments, and districts in and around a large Canadian city. Data were analyzed during and after data collection, and themes were identified, explored, and described. Findings Given the resistance they faced in their efforts to promote social justice, leaders found that they had to be strategic in their efforts. In particular, they had to position themselves in ways that reduced their visibility and increased their credibility. When they took action, they tended to adopt subtle rather than obvious strategies. Originality/value The harsh reality for activist educational leaders who promote social justice is that they will likely have to be strategic in the way they go about their work. Given the nature of their relationships with the organizations in which they work and the power differentials within which they operate, educational leaders may have to adopt low key or discreet strategies if they are to successfully promote their social justice agendas.

A socio-ecological framework of social justice leadership in education

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izhak Berkovich
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Ecological Perspective ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Ecological Framework ◽  
Social Justice Leadership ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the gap between conceptualizations of social injustices and the desired social transformation that addresses multiple social subsystems and levels on one hand, and social justice leadership that addresses intra-school efforts on the other. The paper aims to expand the conceptualization of social justice leadership and tie it together with concepts of activism and social change. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a socio-ecological perspective. It reviews works about social justice leadership in education, activism, and social change to present the notion that in light of existing social justice barriers educational leaders should serve as activists in schools and in the community and policy areas. Findings – The paper presents a macro framework, focussing on individual leaders in the field and on the consolidation of intentions, actions, and outcomes in a manner necessary for using social justice as an effective socio-political agenda in a socio-ecological system. Originality/value – The paper presents a conceptual framework which can enable practitioners and researchers to better understand social justice efforts.

Emotion display and suppression among Arab and Jewish assistant principals in Israel

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid Arar ◽  
Izhar Oplatka
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Assistant Principals ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Needs ◽  
Teachers And Parents

Purpose It is widely accepted that educational leaders and teachers need to manage and regulate their emotions continually, mainly because schooling and teaching processes expose many emotions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to trace the ways Israeli assistant principals, both Arab and Jewish, manage their emotions at work. Design/methodology/approach Based on semi-structured interviews with 15 assistant principals, it was found that they are required to manage their emotions in accordance with entrenched emotion rules in the culture and society. Findings Most of the Jewish female APs tend to display warmth and empathy toward teachers in order to better understand their personal needs and professional performances. In contrast, Arab APs suppressed or fabricated emotional expression in their discourse with teachers and parents, in order to maintain a professional façade and retain the internal cohesion of the school. Both groups of APs believed their emotion regulation results in higher level of harmony in the school. Empirical and practical suggestions are put forward. Originality/value The paper is original and contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge.

The prosocial leadership development process as a means to prepare the next generation of organizational leaders

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-237
Author(s):  
Timothy Ewest
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Leadership Behaviors ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Organizational Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to outline the prosocial leadership development process for guiding pedagogical and social justice course goals as a means to foster prosocial leadership values within the millennial generation. Design/methodology/approach The paper is guided by a social justice framework and proven classroom pedagogies as a means to align millennial characteristics within the four stages of the prosocial leadership development process. Findings An educational rubric is provided as a means to guide classroom pedagogies, course goals and millennial characteristics through a prosocial leadership development process. Research limitations/implications The paper is conceptual in nature, and therefore, theoretical correspondence remains speculative. Practical implications The research in this paper provided guidelines for educators to use pedagogical practices as a means to develop prosocial values as a basis for organizational leadership behaviors. Social implications This leadership development process when facilitated through proven pedagogical techniques (guided by established social justice curriculum goals) and is within the context of millennial characteristics (those born between the years 1982 and 2005) becomes catalytic in empowering leaders to be a remedy for the world’s environmental and social challenges. Originality/value This paper connects characteristics of millennials to a prosocial leadership development model.

scholarly journals Celebrating advances in LGBT+ diversity in the accountancy profession

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 636-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Unerman
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Diversity Initiatives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Diversity Issues ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to provide a commentary on evidence presented and issues raised by Egan (2018) regarding LGBT+ diversity initiatives in the accountancy profession. Design/methodology/approach This paper is an invited commentary based on the author’s experiences of LGBT+ and other diversity initiatives in the profession. Findings There is cause for optimism in how far the profession has progressed in some countries on supporting LGBT+ (and other forms of) diversity. Practical implications As multinational accountancy firms can be agents for change in countries where there remains considerable discrimination and hostility to LGBT+ (and other) communities, constructive critique to help further improve the firms’ innovative actions on LGBT+ and other diversity issues could have a major positive impact on social justice. Egan (2018) is an example of such constructive critique. Social implications Where other academic studies take a disparagingly critical approach, they risk both squandering the opportunity to help achieve the progress they espouse and discouraging other firms embracing innovative diversity practices. Originality/value This study provides a counter perspective to some critical accounting arguments that appear to value idealism over progress.

scholarly journals Social exclusion: re-examining its conceptual relevance to tackling inequality and social injustice

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 600-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Sealey
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Social Injustice ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
It Value ◽  
Significant Difference

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to rationalise the continued conceptual utility of social exclusion, and in so doing addresses the prevailing question of what to do with it. This is relevant from social exclusion’s declining relevance in contemporary UK social policy and academia, where its consideration as a concept to explain disadvantage is being usurped by other concepts, both old and new. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses criticisms of limitations of social exclusion which have typically centred on the operationalisation of the concept, but the author will argue that there are distinctive operationalisation and conceptual strengths within social exclusion which make it value-added as a concept to explain disadvantage. Specifically, there will be an analysis of both New Labour’s and the present Coalition government’s conceptualisation of the term in policy in relation to work. Findings – The analysis highlights the significant difference that a focus on processes rather than outcomes of social exclusion can make to our understanding of inequality and social injustice, and locates this difference within an argument that social exclusion’s true applied capabilities for social justice requires a shift to a conceptualisation built on the processes that cause it in the first place. Originality/value – The paper acts as a rejoinder to prevailing theoretical and political thinking of the limited and diminishing value of social exclusion for tackling disadvantage. In particular, the paper shows how social exclusion can be conceptualised to provide a critical approach to tackling inequality and social injustice, and in doing so foregrounds the truly applied capabilities of social exclusion for transforming social justice.

International perspectives on English teaching

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Locke
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a personalised overview of the content of English Teaching: Practice and Critique for the years it was hosted at the Wilf Malcolm Institute for Educational Research (WMIER) at the University of Waikato (2002-2014). Design/methodology/approach – It notes trends in relationship to the context of origin of 335 articles published in this period (excluding editorials), including significant increases in articles originating in the USA and Pacific Rim Asian nations, particularly South Korea and Taiwan. It comments on articles that relate to the original vision of the editors’ founders, especially their emphasis on practice, criticality and social justice. Findings – Prevailing themes across 13 years are mapped and in some cases discussed. Originality/value – A number of reflections are shared in relation to the future of the journal and some challenges currently facing subject English.

Unseen: the sexual harassment of low-income women in America

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-16
Author(s):  
Louise Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Farm Workers ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Scholarly Inquiry ◽  
Current Movement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the harassment of vulnerable women whose lives and experiences remain largely unseen in the era of #MeToo. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from the sparse empirical literature as well as the more informal accounts provided by social justice organizations, investigative journalists and legal commentary about four spheres that have largely remained invisible: women in low-income housing, agricultural workers, janitorial workers and restaurant workers. It also reviews the surprising success stories that some of these groups have achieved and invite us to ponder what we can learn from them. Findings Farm workers, sub-minimum wage restaurant workers, single mothers and janitorial workers are several groups that were not highlighted by the current movement. Social implications Highlighting the experiences of those who remain largely hidden in and from academic discourse and, more largely, the public eye enlarges the scope of knowledge and encourages further scholarly inquiry. Originality/value Combining the perspectives of scholar and social justice activist illuminates the depth and breadth of largely invisible classes of harassment victims and the potentially novel remedies they have initiated.

The information work of community archives: a systematic literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex H. Poole
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
English Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Collection Development ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Archives ◽  
Work Community ◽  
Information Work

PurposeThis paper scrutinizes the scholarship on community archives' information work. Community archives and archiving projects represent unprecedentedly democratic venues for information work centering on essential documentary concepts such as custody, collection development and appraisal, processing, arrangement and description, organization, representation and naming, collaboration, resource generation and allocation, activism and social justice, preservation, reuse, and sustainability.Design/methodology/approachUnearthed through databases searches, citation chaining, and browsing, sources examined include peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters published in the English language between 1985 and 2018.FindingsThe literature on community archives’ information work shows considerable geographical (six continents), topical, and (inter)disciplinary variety. This paper first explores scholars' efforts to define both community and community archives. Second, it unpacks the ways in which community archives include new stakeholders and new record types and formats even as they leverage alternative archival principles and practices. Third, it discusses community archives as political venues for empowerment, activism, and social justice work. Fourth, this paper delves into the benefits and challenges of partnerships and collaborations with mainstream institutions. Fifth, it documents the obstacles community archives face: not only tensions within and among communities, but also sustainability concerns. Finally, it sets forth six directions for future research.Originality/valueThis paper is the first systematic review of the community archives literature.

Men grow old

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-79
Author(s):  
Stephen Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Liberal Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Opinion Piece

Purpose – This sermon argues that artistry and understanding are the offspring of whole people: thoughtful, resolute, and passionate. It then considers some illiberal fashions in higher education that stifle passion. Design/methodology/approach – This is an opinion piece. Findings – Current threats to liberal education include metaphors demeaning to professors, incomprehensible or inconsequential learning objectives, and schemes that increase “intentionality” by limiting students' opportunities for exploration and discovery. Originality/value – This sermon makes vivid to educational leaders and would-be reformers some of the negative consequences of their actions and proposals.

scholarly journals Contesting commensuration

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 1098-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Gerdin ◽  
Hans Englund
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Performance Evaluations ◽  
Department Heads ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Public Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Comparison Object ◽  
Management Tactics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how actors subjected to public performance evaluations may “contest commensuration,” i.e. may seek to influence how such ratings and rankings will be construed among important stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study of press releases, and interviews with department heads, is used as a basis for the analysis. Findings The empirically derived taxonomy of public responses to a state-initiated performance evaluation of educational programs shows that actors may mobilize an array of commensuration management tactics so as to maintain or improve one’s relative positional status. Such tactics may have at least three different foci, namely, on the comparison object (i.e. on the new grouping of actors), the comparison dimension (i.e. the standardized format for comparison) and the comparison rate (i.e. the rate received), respectively. The authors also find that not only are threats to positional status likely to spur commensuration management tactics, but also the opportunity to exploit a good rate. Originality/value The paper augments recent research that has problematized the so-called “reactive conformance thesis” by focusing on how evaluated organizations may directly try to influence external stakeholders through public responses. The study is also one of the first that analytically disentangles how they may skillfully exploit different forms of “plasticity” that are inherent in any type of commensuration.

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