Social Justice Leaders: Critical Moments in Headteachers’/Principals’ Development

Year 2017, , 29 - 52, 15.07.2017

Christine Forde , Deirdre Torrance

https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2017.1.3

Cited By: 6

Abstract

Being a social justice leader makes significant
demands on the individual headteacher/principal particularly where there may be
conflict, competing demands and significant resistance both within the school
and the wider community. There is a question then about what motivates some
headteachers to commit to pursuing social justice and equity in their role and
what part their own experiences play in their stance around social justice
leadership. This article draws from the case studies conducted in Scotland as
part of the Social Justice Leadership research strand of the International
School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN). In the ISLDN framework the headteacher
is characterized at the micro level. The leadership stories illustrate that
this micro level is complex and includes not only the practices of these
leaders but their stance, personal and professional experiences and continuing
professional learning.

Keywords

Social justice leadership, Headteacher development, Positionality

References

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• Forde, C. (2014). Issues of social justice and fairness in the development of aspiring headteachers: I hadn’t really thought about my values before… In I. Bogotch& C. Shields (Eds.) International Handbook of Social [In] Justice and Educational Leadership. Volume 2 (pp. 1125-1144). London: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6555-9_56
• Forde, C. &Torrance, D. (2017). Social Justice and Leadership Development. Professional Development in Education 43(1): 106-120. DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2015.1131733