“Yes, but …”: Education Leaders Discuss Social Justice

Abstract

and others. Respondents noted that social justice issues must be addressed but barriers exist, including that administrators are stressed; the topic is considered too controversial by many; and dominant societal values are barriers. Respondents provided specific advice about training, such as: using policy levers like No Child Left Behind as motivators; start with "the higher calling"; be ethically appealing; put social justice requirements in licensure policy; use coalitions; and write articles in plain language for practitioners. Respondents' advice can be used to construct good leadership preparation and, ultimately, can lead to a reconstruction of leadership. Where do practicing administrators get support, advice, knowledge, and skills to remedy societal and school-based inequities? What interventions could transform the preparation of school leaders so they are willing and able to take an activist stand to eliminate the patterns that perpetuate inequity and exclusion? This article, a collaboration between an education scholar and an education policymaker, identifies policymakers' perceptions of social justice needs and their political, organizational, and strategic recommendations for creating institutes for social justice.

Leadership for Social Justice: An Agenda for 21st Century Schools

“…self-refl ection, critical thinking (Lather 1986;Lum 1993;Freire 1998), values orientation within democracy (Furman and Shields 2005), and social justice and equity (Freire 1998;Giroux 2002;Scheurich and Skrla 2003;Valverde 2003;Marshall and Ward 2004). As the participants shared their leadership experiences, what emerged from the data are how the four principals demystify the work of social justice and move it to a more empowered stance (Sanders-Lawson, Smith-Campbell, and Benham 2006).…”

Inclusive Leadership and Social Justice for Schools

“…Recently, however, this approach has increasingly come under fire. Challengers have contested the hierarchical relationships that dominate such organizations and pointed to the limitations of a leadership model that does not look beyond narrowly defined organizational goals (Blackmore, 1999;Marshall, 2004;Ryan, 2006). These scholars and educators emphasize that leadership in schools needs to be about deeper moral purposes like social justice because they believe that schools must do their part in contributing to a world that is fair for everyone.…”

Woven in Deeply

“…This literature has shown that there are no constructive models or real-life examples of principals doing this work (Marshall & Ward, 2004;Theoharis, 2004). Marshall and Ward (2004) and Theoharis (2004) asserted that to make equity and justice a meaningful part of current and future administrators' agendas, real-life descriptions and models of socially just leadership are critical. These real-life models help create a sense that social justice in schools is not just educational theory or rhetoric but actually practiced by leaders and indeed possible.…”

“…Within the field of educational administration, issues of social justice leadership have captured the interest of increasing numbers of scholars (e.g. organization of a newly formed AERA SIG: leaders for social justice), and this interest has led to a developing body of scholarship (Cambron-McCabe & McCarthy, 2005;Capper & Young, in press;Frattura & Capper, 2007;Grogan, 2002a, 2002b, Larson & Murtadha, 2002Marshall, 2004, Marshall & Olivia, 2006, Marshall & Ward, 2004Scheurich, 1998;Scheurich & Skrla, 2003, Shoho, 2006Theoharis, 2007;Tillman, Brown, Campbell-Jones & Gonzalez, 2006). This literature has shown that there are no constructive models or real-life examples of principals doing this work (Marshall & Ward, 2004;Theoharis, 2004).…”

“…With this purpose in mind, I will provide the operational definition of leadership for social justice used in this endeavor, the research questions used to frame this analysis, the research methodology of the qualitative study on which this article is based, the findings from the analysis, and a discussion of this type of leadership. Blackmore (2002), Bogotch (2002), Dantley and Tillman (2006), Furman and Gruenewald (2004), Gewirtz (1998), Goldfarb and Grinberg (2002), Marshall and Ward (2004), and Theoharis (2007) all provided definitions of leadership for social justice. Gewirtz described social justice as a response to disrupting and subverting arrangements that promote marginalization and exclusionary processes.…”