Social Justice Leadership: Principals’ Perspectives in Trinidad and Tobago

Year 2019, , 554 - 589, 25.12.2019

Dennis Conrad Rinnelle Lee-piggott Launcelot Brown

https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2019.3.5

Abstract

The paper “Thinking of, Knowing, and Doing Social Justice Leadership: Principals’ perspectives” explores the understanding and practice of principals regarding social justice leadership. The study adopts phenomenography as its methodology and presents findings gleaned from the semi-structured interviews of 11 principals in Trinidad and Tobago. Findings indicate that principals were generally unaware of a social justice leadership orientation, but values of fairness and equity, for instance, were common in their understandings. Social justice leadership roles were conceptualized as multi-faceted, difficult and requiring strategy and caution, but emphasized a need for self-investment and collaboration. It was found that principals’ unclear conceptualizations translated into guesswork when practicing social justice leadership from which emerged unique ways of ‘doing’ social justice. Findings point to the need to place social justice atop Trinidad and Tobago’s school improvement agenda.

Keywords

Trinidad and Tobago, Phenomenography, Understanding social justice, Leadership practices, Equity, Marginalized, De-privileging

References

• EJ1145455.pdf Altrichter, H. & Holly, M.L. (2005). Research Diaries. In B. Somekh & C. Lewin (Eds.), Research methods in the social sciences (pp. 24-32). London: Sage Publications. Belchetz, D. & Leithwood, K. (2007). Does context matter and if so how? In C. Day & K. Leithwood (Eds.), Successful principal leadership in times of change: An international perspective (pp. 117-137). The Netherlands: Springer. Berkovich, I. (2014). A socio-ecological framework of social justice leadership in education. Journal of Educational Administration, 52, 282-309. Bogotch, I. E. (2002). Educational leadership and social justice: Practice into theory. Journal of School Leadership, 12, 138–156. Bristol, L. S. M. (2012). Plantation Pedagogy: A Postcolonial and Global Perspective. New York: Peter Lang. Brown, L., & Conrad, D. (2007). School Leadership in Trinidad and Tobago: The Challenge of Context. Comparative Education Review, 51 (2), 181-201. doi:10.1086/512021 Brown, L. & Lavia, J. (2013). School Leadership and Inclusive Education in Trinidad and Tobago: Dilemmas and opportunities for practice. In P. Miller (Ed). School Leadership in the Caribbean: Perceptions, Practices, Paradigms (pp. 45-62). Oxford, UK: Symposium Books. Campbell, C. (1992). Colony and nation: A short history of education in Trinidad and Tobago, 1834-1986. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers. Causton-Theoharis, J. (2009). The golden rule of providing support in inclusive classrooms: Support others as you would wish to be supported. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 42 (2), 36-43. Capper, C. A., & Young, M. D. (2014). Ironies and limitations of educational leadership for social justice: A call to social justice educators. Theory into Practice, 53, 158-164. Conrad, D. A. & Brown, L. (2011). Perceptions and practice: The challenge of inclusive school leadership in Urban Trinidad. International Journal on Inclusive Education, 15 (9), 1017-1029. Dantley, M. E., & Tillman, L. C. (2006). Social justice and moral transformative leadership. In C. Marshall & M. Olivia (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions happen (pp. 16-29). Boston, MA: Pearson. Dantley, M. E., & Tillman, L. C. (2010). Social justice and moral transformative leadership. In C. Marshall & M. Oliva (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (2nd ed., pp. 19–34). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Day, C. (2003). What successful leadership in schools looks like: Implications for policy and practice. In B. Davies & J. West-Burnham (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Leadership and Management (pp. 187-204). London: Pearson. Day, C., Sammons, P., Leithwood, K., Hopkins, D., Qing, G., Brown, E. J., Ahtaridou, E. (2011). Successful School Leadership: Linking with Learning. Open University Press. DeMatthews, D., & Mawhinney, H. (2014). Social justice leadership and inclusion: Exploring challenges in an urban district struggling to address inequities. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50 (5), 844–881. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X13514440 Earley, P. (2013). Foreword. In P. Miller (Ed.), School leadership in the Caribbean: Perceptions, practices, paradigms, 7-12. Oxford, UK: Symposium Books. Furman, G. (2012). Social justice leadership as praxis developing capacities through preparation programs. Educational Administration Quarterly, 48 (2), 191-229. Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative inquiry. Chicago: Aldin. Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Education. Education Sector Strategic Plan: 2002-2006. Retrieved from: https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/planipolis/files/ressources/trinidad_and_tobago_strategic_plan_2002-2006.pdf Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Education. Education Sector Strategic Plan: 2011-2015. Retrieved from: http://www.MOE.gov.tt/spotlightPDFs/MOE_Stategic_Action_Plan_2011_2015.pdf Government of Trinidad and Tobago. (2017). Draft National Development Strategy 2016‒2030. VISION 2030. Retrieved from: http://www.planning.gov.tt/sites/default/files/Vision_2030_Draft_National_Development_Strategy.pdf Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Education. (1993). National Task Force on Education, Education Policy Paper, 1993-2003: White Paper. Port of Spain: Trinidad and Tobago Government Printery. Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Education. (2007). The National Model for Education in Trinidad and Tobago (Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary). Port of Spain: Ministry of Education. Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Planning and the Economy (2011). Medium-term Policy Framework, 2011-2014: Innovation for lasting prosperity. Retrieved from: http://www.planning.gov.tt/sites/default/files/content/mediacentre/documents/Innovation_for_Lasting_Prosperity_web.pdf Gurr, D., Drysdale, L., & Mulford, B. (2007). Instructional leadership in three Australian schools. International Studies in Educational Administration, 35 (3), 20-29. Harris, A. & Day, C. (2003). From singular to plural? Challenging the orthodoxy of school leadership. In: N. Bennett & L. Anderson (Eds.), Rethinking educational leadership: Challenging the conventions (pp. 89-99). London: Sage Publications. Khan, S. H. (2014). Phenomenography: A Qualitative Research Methodology in Bangladesh, 5 (2), 34-43. Lee-Piggott, R. (2016). New principals' leadership and school culture: A study of three primary schools facing challenging circumstances in Trinidad and Tobago. Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education. Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A. & Hopkins, D. (2006). Seven strong claims about successful leadership. Nottingham: National College of School Leadership. Lincoln, Y. & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Marton, F. (1981). Phenomenography — Describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science, 10, 177. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00132516 Marton, F., & Pong, W. (2005). On the unit of description in phenomenography. Higher Education Research and Development, 24 (4), 335–348. Marshall, C., & Oliva, M. (2010). Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education. 2nd Ed. Boston: Pearson. McKenzie, K. B., Christman, D. E., Hernandez, F., Fierro, E., Capper, C. A., Dantley, M., Scheurich, J. J. (2008). From the field: A proposal for educating leaders for social justice. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44 (1), 111–138. Miles, M. & Huberman, A. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. Miller, P. (2013). School Leadership in the Caribbean: Perceptions, Practices, Paradigms. Oxford, UK: Symposium Books. Newby, P. (2010). Research methods for education. England, UK: Pearson Education Limited. Oplatka, I. & Arar, K. (2015). Leadership for social justice and the characteristics of traditional societies: ponderings on the application of western-grounded models, International Journal of Leadership in Education: Theory and Practice, DOI: 10.1080/13603124.2015.1028464 Owens, R. G., & Valesky, T. C. (2007). Organizational behavior in education: Adaptive leadership and school reform. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Pazey, B. L., & Cole, H. A. (2013). The role of special education training in the development of socially just leaders building an equity consciousness in educational leadership programs. Educational Administration Quarterly, 49 (2), 243-271. Ryan, J. (2006). Inclusive leadership and social justice for schools. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 5 (1), 3-17. Sanjari, M., Bahramnezhad, F., Fomani, F. K., Shoghi, M., & Cheraghi, M. A. (2014). Ethical challenges of researchers in qualitative studies: the necessity to develop a specific guideline. Journal of Medical Ethics and History Of Medicine, 7, 14. Retrieved https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263394/pdf/jmehm-7-14.pdf Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2012). Research Methods for Business Students. 6th ed., Pearson. Sin, S. (2010). Considerations of quality in phenomenographic research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 9 (4), 305–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691000900401 Smith, J. (2011). Aspirations to and perceptions of Secondary Headship: Contrasting Female Teachers’ and Head-teachers’ Perspectives. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 39 (5), 516 – 535. Spencer, L., Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., & Dillon, L. (2003). Quality in qualitative evaluation: A framework for assessing research evidence. Report prepared by the National Centre for Social Research on behalf of the Cabinet Office. London: National Centre for Social Research. Svensson, L. (1997). Theoretical foundations of phenomenography. Higher Education Research and Development, 16 (2), 159–171. Theoharis, G. (2007). Social justice educational leaders and resistance: Toward a theory of social justice leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43 (2), 221-258. Theoharis, G. (2008). Woven in deeply: Identity and leadership of urban social justice principals. Education and Urban Society, 41 (1), 3-25. Theoharis, G. & Causton-Theoharis, J. N. (2008). Oppressors or Emancipators: Critical Dispositions for Preparing Inclusive School Leaders. Equity & Excellence in Education, 41 (2), 230-246. Theoharis, G., & O’Toole, J. (2011). Leading inclusive ELL: Social justice leadership for English language learners. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47 (4), 646–688. Trigwell, K. (2000). A phenomenographic interview on phenomenography. In J. Bowden & E. Walsh (Eds.), Phenomenography (pp. 63-82): Melbourne: RMIT University Press. Wang, F. (2018). Social Justice Leadership - Theory and Practice: A case of Ontario. Educational Administration Quarterly, 54 (3), 470–498. Wasonga, T. A. (2009). Leadership practices for social justice, democratic community, and learning: School principals' perspectives. Journal of School Leadership, 19 (2), 200-224.