Successful school leadership for social justice in Spain

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to present the results obtained from the investigations that have been carried out within the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) project in the Spanish for social justice.Design/methodology/approachTwelve case studies have been carried out within the three lines of research proposed by ISSPP: successful principals, underperforming principals and principal leadership identity. All but one school were in challenging contexts. The methodological approach followed is based on multiple perspective case studies using a mixture of qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups and observations).FindingsResults show that successful principals not only believe in social justice through simple empathy with the concept of social justice, but also use strategies that combine transformational and instructional leadership processes and manage to reverse the bad situation of their disadvantaged schools, seeking excellence from equity. The leadership identity of successful principals is characterized to look to the future with hope, adopting a realistic utopian attitude to interpret their surrounding reality.Originality/valueFrom the case studies carried out, valuable information is obtained, which helps to understand the possibilities of implementing the ISSPP successful school leadership model in heterogeneous and disadvantaged context for equity and social justice.

The Meaning of Successful School Leadership in Disadvantaged Contexts in Spain: Approach from the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP)

“…The critical literature review has been carried out on publications in Spanish and English language journals related to ISSPP Spanish case studies of successful and unsuccessful schools in disadvantaged and heterogeneous contexts, covering all the ISSPP lines and branches of research. Specifically, twelve case studies have been carried out by different research groups belonging to the universities of Huelva, Madrid, and Granada [37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. All case studies have been published in peer-reviewed high impact journals and have passed the required validity criteria for publication.…”

“…The research carried out in the papers selected for the analysis of the critical review of Spanish ISSPP studies uses the methodological basis of case studies [46]. The case study protocols and questionnaires provided by the ISSPP have been used to conduct the Spanish case studies [37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. In particular, to carry out the Spanish ISSPP, the case studies used individual interviews with principals, teachers (3 to 6 teachers in each case study), and educational inspectors/counsellors; group interviews with teachers, students and parents; and document analysis, as per the core research tools, supplemented by questionnaires and observations of school life in some cases [44,47].…”

“…The motto is 'excellence and quality through equity' [21,23], terms that seem to conflict, as they can be seen as opposites [55], but which successful principals manage to fit together suitably. The explanation that one of the successful principals interviewed considers to be the reason for being able to maintain the slogan 'excellence and quality through equity' is that in the school, there are agenda and people [43]. Firstly, for a school to be successful, there must be an agenda that functions as a brain, which provides meaning, direction, and vision and sets the course for where the school is heading.…”

“…This agenda is elaborated and sustained by the principal and the management team. It also needs enthusiastic and passionate teachers who share the responsibility of providing quality education for all pupils equally [56] to make the agenda a reality [43].…”

“…However, what we have learned since the time of the Spanish ISSPP research is that the relationships that are established between these successful practices are not linear, they are complex, and a type of leadership capable of understanding this complex process is required [43]. The leadership model recommended by the Spanish Framework for Good Leadership [6,7] is conceived as a model for direct application of pedagogical leadership.…”