Charles L. Slater

This study explores the relationship between the identity development of a school principal and the concept of social justice leadership. We examine how one African American principal used equity-focused leadership in two different high schools to improve the conditions of all students. Erikson's view of identity and Cross's conception of Negrescence guided the research questions guided the study of the identity development of a Black school principal as a social justice leader, what actions he took, and what supports and barriers he encountered. The principal's case suggested several factors that form a social justice leader. He acknowledged a history of oppression, confronted racial animosity, and showed empathy through action. He had strong role models and received a solid education with Black professors and mentors and formed lifetime friendships. He developed the confidence to believe in himself as an educator and advocate for others. As an innovative educator, he was able to take risks. As a Black man, he fit well into one culture but was limited by racism in another. He became a leader who continued the pursuit of social justice after the principalship.

Leadership for social justice is a goal and a challenge for the National Pedagogical University (UPN) in Mexico City. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of UPN directors in the context of leadership for social justice. The focus of the study is on those who are responsible for preparation and continuous training of teachers (García, 2006; Jiménez, 2009). The research design was qualitative based on subjective interpretation from the meanings generated by the participants (Bisquerra, 2014). It describes and analyses the experiences of five directors of school units through in-depth interviews where both the person and the environment are of interest. The findings were reported in the voices of the directors. Supportive factors included teamwork through building consensus and recognition of achievements, commitment to students, and critical awareness. The obstacles to leadership included the quality of facilities, vertical management, job uncertainty, the challenging profile of the students, and inter-institutional relations. This study of leadership of directors of UPN has the potential to strengthen the management of the UPN school units and enhance institutional objectives to promote inclusion and guarantee the right to education. It also has implications for the study of social justice leadership in other educational contexts.

Spain is experiencing important changes with the increase in the level of inequality in the population. The national government and autonomous communities have responded with policies to address the challenges of education and diversity. These policies are consistent with global efforts to promote inclusion through transformative leadership. Spain presents a model of school leadership based on the school director as teacher and more recently, the school director as manager and leader. The requirements to become a school director in Spain represent a balance of teaching experience and preparation to lead. This chapter presents an approach to transformative leadership for social justice. The Spanish experience is presented with reference to international implications. Six steps and four conditions are presented for schools to follow, and recommendations are made to foster a critical understanding of social systems and the promotion of inclusion for all.

Leadership is a critical component of creating and sustaining a school culture that promotes the inclusion and success of students. The purpose of this study was to examine how school leaders helped to enact and sustain a reformed Advanced Placement (AP) culture designed to increase participation and success of students of color. Building on existing work of transformative leadership, this study describes the experience and challenges of educational leaders in understanding how leadership practices change the AP culture. The case study method examined one mid-sized urban district in Southern California that utilized transformative leadership. The methods included 15 open-ended interviews with educational leaders in a variety of capacities (i.e., district leadership, school administrators, counselors, and teacher leaders). The findings demonstrated critical components leading to deep and meaningful cultural change in AP. The analysis showed leaders in this district, who sought equity, were driven to create meaningful change, and were grounded in the community. Being grounded in the community had a great impact in promoting a transformed culture at the classroom, site, and district level.

This study used a social justice and transformative leadership framework to focus on regions of Spain that have experienced an increase of immigrant families. The purpose was to determine how experts in the field of educational leadership viewed social justice and what challenges principals faced in schools with large immigrant populations. Social justice leaders develop a vision that includes all students and families. These leaders are politically committed, but they lack autonomy and critical self-awareness to address cultural differences in the school and understand broader issues in the community.

En el contexto actual, se hace necesaria una revisión del concepto de Justicia Social, más allá de la redistribución, el reconocimiento y la representación. Nuevas dimensiones, como la ambiental, cognitiva o universalista ayudan cubrir las tres grandes dimensiones que la ONU se marca como meta para una sociedad justa. La escuela tiene un papel fundamental en la consecución de estas metas, a pesar de que no es suficiente. La investigación sobre Escuelas para la Justicia social, con el objetivo de hacer la educación para cambiar el mundo, busca ahondar en la comprensión de la cultura en las escuelas y las forma de que contribuyan a que conseguir esa justicia. Una conclusión clara de esta investigación es la importancia que tiene un liderazgo sólido. Este liderazgo debe construir la visión y establecer la dirección, desarrollando a las personas, diseñando la organización y administrando el proceso de aprendizaje. Además, debe tener una dimensión crítica para desarrollar las prácticas adecuadas, desarrollando liderazgo transformador. El papel natural de líder recae en la dirección de las escuelas. Varias experiencias demuestran que es importante que los equipos directivos tengan clara cual debe ser la misión de la escuela, desde una visión de conjunto de la escuela y de la justicia. Esta visión la aportan los objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU, dando direccionalidad a la estrategia de los líderes.

This study investigated social justice from the point of view of school directors, teachers, and parents. We chose two schools that were undergoing major demographic changes because of increased immigration into Catalonia, Spain. They were both classified as “schools of maximum complexity” because of their socio-economic characteristics. The research questions focused on how directors, teachers, and parents give meaning to social justice and what actions they take to achieve it. Teachers and principals adopted practices that have been described in leadership literature as transformational, such as building trust and challenging the process; they only occasionally showed transformative practices like those described by Santamaria (2014) as applied critical leadership (ACL). They were motivated by seeing the needs of migrant families and students with special needs. They seriously considered social cohesion and believed that all students should be given the same opportunities and treated fairly. While these principals wanted to guide teachers to see their work in new ways and develop practices to address the needs of a changing student population, they did not reflect on the connection between day-to-day problems and the larger social system. This critical perspective is essential to ACL.