Which Hill Would You Die on?: Examining the Use of War-Normalizing Metaphors in Social Justice Leaders’ Discourse and Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-61
Author(s):  
Denise Armstrong ◽  
Stephanie Tuters ◽  
Snežana Ratković
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Social Justice Leadership ◽  
American School ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Educational Discourse ◽  
Political Environments

Metaphors are deeply embedded in educational discourse, yet few studies examine how educators use these linguistic devices to conceptualize, articulate, and make sense of their professional practice. This article examines the metaphors that 38 Canadian and American school leaders used to describe how they accomplished their social justice work in complex political environments. Our analysis revealed that while participants used a variety of metaphors to describe how they subverted inequitable practices to achieve their social justice goals, for the most part, their discourse coalesced around war-normalizing metaphors. We explore the nature of these metaphors, how they contradict and cohere with popular educational discourses and ideologies, and their implications for practice. We further discuss how policy makers, practitioners, and professional development programs can employ metaphors as discursive tools to assess and reconceptualize practice and advance social justice leadership.

scholarly journals Teachers Who Reflect, Teach Better: Reflective Practice at The Heart of Teachers’ Professional Development Programs

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-227
Author(s):  
Zuraimi Zakaria ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Teaching Improvement ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
The Relationship

While there is a significant amount of research and literature to explain the role of reflective practice in teaching, there is little research that reported the extent of such practice on classroom instructions and its spill effects on student learning outcomes. For this reason, this paper looks at the magnitude of reflective practice in shaping classroom instructions and how it facilitates for better student performance within the context of teachers’ professional development (PD) programs. Hence, the focus of the paper is two-fold: examining teachers’ PD programs that promoted reflective practice; and the relationship between reflective practice and student performance. The discussion on teachers’ reflective practice is timely. In particular, with the growing educational research and increasing body of evidence that pointed towards PD as having a significant influence on student achievement (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Fullan, 1990; Little, 2001). In addition, most PD efforts focused on teacher collaboration as a strategy for teaching improvement and eventually better academic performance of the students (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006). Many educators (Fendler, 2003; Loughran, 2002; Schon, 1983; Walkington, 2005) viewed reflective practice as situated at the heart of PD programs that sought teachers to examine their practice for improvement. This paper assists policy makers and education reformists in re-examining their PD efforts in targeting for variables that matter.

Why “Particularly Good” Principals Don't Quit

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl Boris-Schacter ◽  
Susan Merrifield
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Intellectual Curiosity ◽  
Lifelong Learners ◽  
The Face ◽  
New Research

In the face of recent articles describing a mass exodus of principals without suitable replacements, our investigation into the nature of professional development for school leaders has implications for preparation and staff development programs. This article reviews findings from interviews with committed administrators and places them within the context of new research on principals as lifelong learners who publicly model intellectual curiosity.

Educating the Reflective School Leader

1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-164
Author(s):  
Carl R. Ashbaugh ◽  
Katherine Kasten
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Professional Preparation ◽  
School Leader ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Instructional Methodologies ◽  
Problems Of Practice

This paper presents a conceptual analysis of the nature of reflective practice and an argument for emphasizing reflective practice in the preparation and professional development of school leaders. The authors argue that professional preparation that develops reflective practice is one way to resolve the theory-practice dichotomy and to improve professional practice. Further, they assert that preparation programs have the instructional methodologies that encourage and nurture reflection on the messy problems of practice.

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.

Social justice leadership, instructional leadership, and the goals of schooling

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-95
Author(s):  
Haim Shaked
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Principals ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Social Justice Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Research ◽  
School Principalship

Purpose School principals should see themselves as social justice leaders, who have the ability to allow all students to succeed, regardless of their characteristics and backgrounds. At the same time, school principals are also called upon to demonstrate instructional leadership, which emphasizes the teaching and learning aspects of school principalship. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relations between these two roles of today’s school principals. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the relations between social justice leadership and instructional leadership, this paper adds the question of the goal of schooling to the mix. After identifying possible goals of schooling, the paper conceptualizes social justice leadership and instructional leadership, respectively, while also examining their relations with schools’ major goals. Possible commonalities and contradictions between social justice leadership and instructional leadership are discussed. Findings The prevalent expectation that school leaders should give top priority to ongoing improvement of teaching quality and academic outcomes may be seen as reducing school leaders’ involvement in some aspects of social justice leadership, such as nurturing students’ active citizenship. Research limitations/implications This paper opens new research avenues. Based on the findings of this paper, the connection between principals’ perceptions regarding the goals of schooling and their leadership behaviors should be explored. Practical implications It seems advisable to discuss the interplay between social justice leadership and instructional leadership with prospective and current principals, as well as with other school stakeholders. Originality/value Insofar as the relations between social justice leadership and instructional leadership have not been explored so far, this paper narrows a gap in the available knowledge.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Motivational Practices in Public and Private Secondary Schools in Pakistan: A Case Study of Two Administrators

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-47
Author(s):  
Asif Khan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Private School ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
School Administrator ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Different Dimensions

This empirical study investigated the efforts of two Pakistani school administrators in dealing with the issues related to teachers’ motivation. This study exclusively examined how the two administrators embedded in their practices different ways of increasing the productivity of their staff. The researcher used the following three lenses to examine the motivational behavior adopted by the school leaders: 1) degree of teachers’ empowerment; 2) nature of rewards and recognition to honor teachers; and 3) pattern of communication between administrators and school staff. The study maintained that the private school administrator, unlike his public school counterpart, had a more updated knowledge in the field of education due to his exposure to professional development programs. This knowledge, which gave him a better understanding of the link between the motivational level of the teachers and the teachers’ productivity, led him to initiate certain measures. Unfortunately, only a limited quantity of research explores different dimensions of school leadership in the educational context of Pakistan. Therefore, this study attempted to address related issues, such as the recruitment of school leaders and the availability of professional development opportunities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document