Prepared to Lead: Educational Leadership Graduates as Catalysts for Social Justice Praxis

Abstract

Situated within PK-12 school settings is the most diverse student population this nation has seen. Concern regarding the preparedness of those at the forefront of education bestows the task to educational leadership programs of developing leaders ready to address social justice issues. This study highlights how graduates from one educational leadership program relied on their academic knowledge and applied critical leadership to operationalize social justice praxis. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, 10 semi-structured interviews revealed three themes. Findings suggest educational leadership programs reflect their mission of social justice values through their curriculum to prepare educational leaders for sustainable change.

An Examination of Educational Leadership Preparation in Ontario: Are Principals Prepared to Lead Equitably?

“…This is largely due to, as Galloway and Ishimaru (2017) explained, the educational leadership field lacking the language that explicitly expresses leadership development "focused on fairness in processes, structural and learning conditions, and student outcomes within the context of an unequal playing field for nondominant students and communities" (p. 3). This also supports the need for these programs to intentionally offer learning opportunities focused on social CJEAP, 204 justice and cultural awareness (Guillaume et al, 2020;Khalifa, 2018).…”

“…Moreover, scholars (Churchley et al, 2017;Guillaume et al, 2020;Webber et al, 2014) have added to this discourse by pointing out that leadership preparation programs in North America lack attention to the cultural context of schools and their student and family populations. These programs seem to continually adopt traditional notions of principals as managers leading in a hierarchically organized institution (Khalifa, 2018).…”

What is the problem? A critical review of social justice leadership preparation and development

“…Jean-Marie et al (2009) argue that leadership development programmes need to move in 'the direction of a social constructivist approach to teaching and learning involving critical dialogue and pedagogy, and a concentrated effort to understand knowledge construction and social development ' (p.11-12). The overarching approach is that of 'critical pedagogy' (Guillaume et al, 2019). This is constructed in different ways including critical reflection on practice, on participants' lived experiences and on beliefs and values.…”