Effective Leadership is Not Enough: Critical Approaches to Closing the Racial Discipline Gap

A review of student discipline and suspension data disaggregated by race highlights how school leader biases influence disciplinary decisions. Yet, the majority of principal preparation programs have failed to develop structures and norms that result in critical conversations pertaining to race and racial inequities. This article is written from a stance that school leaders must move away from traditional leadership approaches and toward a social justice leadership orientation that creates critical spaces and discourses, empowers communities, and enables the adoption of social justice practices in all aspects of the school. After reviewing literature on critical race theory and social justice leadership, three leadership action areas are recommended to support principals and assistant principals in closing the racial discipline gap.     

Social justice dilemmas: evidence on the successes and shortcomings of three principals trying to make a difference

Social justice leadership has become a popular topic and catchphrase in the field of educational leadership. However, most scholarly and empirical contributions have ignored the inherent tensions, challenges and dilemmas associated with the practice of school leadership and the realities principals confront on a daily basis. This is partly because researchers have tended to ignore multiple facets of justice in their empirical investigations as well as how larger forces outside the school associated with historical, political, social and economic injustices marginalize students and communities. This article explores three cases of challenging school–community contexts that confound and partially subdue the efforts of well-intentioned principals. Each case highlights a dedicated principal committed to their school and community, and documents the significant progress made in addressing particular social justice issues, but also how they confronted justice dilemmas that they believed required them to prioritize certain social justice issues over others. These findings have important implications for how principals view their communities and engage in critical reflection about the leadership decisions and actions they take on a daily basis. This article concludes with implications for future research and a discussion of how aspiring principals can be better prepared to lead for social justice and effectively address justice dilemmas without ignoring or putting off other injustices.     

Urban School Principals and the ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act

This exploratory study investigated how six practicing school principals responded to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind law (United States Congress Public Law 107–110, 2002, January, No Child Left Behind Act, ) in light of the multicultural leadership demands presented by an urban setting. It examines perspectives of principals on the legal aspects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and what they did to manage its requirements. Multicultural leadership literature provided a framework to understand the perspectives of school leaders. The findings suggest three principals were engaged in meaningful and practical work to both fulfill the requirements of NCLB and meet the needs of their students. Three principals were focused on the requirements of the law and did not see the connection between multicultural leadership and NCLB. The study’s recommendations include a multicultural leadership approach to current NCLB school reform. An earlier version of this study in progress was presented to the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Montreal, Canada 2005.     

The Moral Imperative of Social Justice Leadership: A Critical Component of Effective Practice

This study examined how four principals in urban middle and senior high schools with a social justice orientation responded to hypothetical scenarios involving teacher prejudice. The principals in this study did not reference their leadership preparation programs in describing the evolution of their equity-focused leadership philosophies, nor did they reference theory. Rather, the principals were predisposed to support the goals of equity and fairness because they believed they had a moral obligation to do so. The research suggests that school leaders who enter the position with a predisposition for equity and fighting injustice may be better equipped to handle scenarios involving prejudice in ways that advance the overall goals of social justice.     

Dialogic education as an approach to multiculturalism for social cohesion in Namibia

The paper explores approaches to cultural diversity and its relation to the concept of social cohesion in the context of a multicultural school community. It uses insights from an empirical research on multicultural education conducted in Namibia as context for a discussion on tools in educational practice that would support diversity while working towards a greater integration of a pluralistic society. Looking into the African concept of Ubuntu and the corresponding teachings of the philosophers of dialogue, this theoretical paper suggests dialogic learning as an approach to multiculturalism that can enhance tolerance among peoples and produce a society united through understanding.     

The role of principals in creating inclusive school environments: insights from community national schools in Ireland

This article seeks to provide an insight into the role of school principals dealing with newly multicultural and multi-faith student populations by drawing on a mixed-methods study on state-funded multi-denominational community national schools in Ireland. The study explores the extent to which school principals address the increasing social and cultural diversity in their schools by helping to establish inclusive and supportive school environments. The study identifies the main agents in shaping the school culture, and how the multi-denominational ethos is experienced by students. The article endeavours to provide academics and practitioners with a better understanding of the importance of leadership in shaping school climate that promotes a sense of belonging for all the students.     

Positional matters: school leaders engaging with national equity agendas

ABSTRACT

This paper claims a central role for school leaders (principals or head-teachers) in the enactment of social justice policy in schools, who act as key agents or ‘gate keepers’ for what counts as social justice in their contexts of practice. Social justice means different things in different contexts depending on where leaders – who use policy as an opportunity to advance what they think is achievable within the limits of available resources – are positioned in the field and how that defines their stances. Drawing on qualitative data generated through in-depth interviews with ten secondary school principals in two Australian cities, the paper analyses the engagement of school leaders with nationally prescribed equity-related policies. Our analysis shows that, depending on the institutional ethos and resources of schools and their own social justice dispositions, school leaders tend to take different stances towards nationally defined equity agendas. Their responses range from compliance to compromise to contest. The paper suggests that doing social justice in schools can never be unilateral, as policy documents suppose, but is characterised by context-informed policy translation, mediated by a range of interactive forces and interests.     

Education for Multiculturalism Among Arab Youth in Israel

Education for multiculturalism, founded on liberal-democratic values, is a frequent topic of educational discourse that has not been ignored by Muslim Arab schools in Israel. In general, Arab society is undergoing change processes, in transition from a traditional to a modern society; traditional values are challenged, engendering social crises. This paper discusses whether the multicultural approach can be successfully imparted in a society with preexisting structured values. It focuses on the school’s role as a socialization agent that needs to adapt itself to a changing sociocultural reality, discussing the school’s involvement in creating a value crisis, since it transmits the Islamic perception of the principles, foundations, and goals of education for multiculturalism. It is concluded that education for multiculturalism in Arab schools lacks internal logic, conflicts with and even undermines the Arab society’s sociocultural values system, is inappropriate as a means to supervise the necessary change processes, and thus contributes to a values crisis.     

Perceptions and practices of principals: supporting positive educational experiences for Aboriginal learners

The purpose of this paper is to describe the leadership perceptions and practices of principals who promote positive school experiences for Aboriginal students. This qualitative multi-case study encapsulates 14 semi-structured individual interviews conducted with nine principals from the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island. Findings indicate that the principal’s belief in students, emphasis on student belonging, promotion of relationships and promotion of culturally relevant school experience were seminal in creating a positive school experiences for Aboriginal students. An implication of the study is that leadership embodied via an Aboriginal worldview has great merit for fostering educational success for all learners, regardless of ethnicity.     

Leadership development programs: investing in school principals

Considering that some university-based principal preparation programmes may not be properly training principals for leadership roles, “grow your own” leadership development programmes have become more popular across the US. This study provides a contribution to previous research in terms of the specific components a district leadership development programme may incorporate into its curriculum in order to positively influence school principals’ effectiveness as school leaders. A purposeful sample of second-, third- and fourth-year campus principals working in a large urban school district in the south-west region of the US who had participated in their district’s leadership development programme were administered the Principal Effectiveness Survey and participated in semi-structured interviews to examine the influence of the programme on the participants’ effectiveness as leaders. Survey results indicated that principals consider training activities related to human capital, executive leadership, school culture and strategic operations as having a “high” influence on their effectiveness as school leaders. In addition, interview data revealed the importance of supervisor support and building relationships with peers as critical to their continued success as leaders.     

Perceptual inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals

ABSTRACT

The instructional leadership approach expects school leaders to give top priority to ongoing improvement of teaching quality and academic outcomes. Researchers have found that despite the top-down pressures to assume an instructional leadership role, school principals demonstrate limited direct involvement in such leadership. The current qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, aimed to expand inquiry into inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals. Data analysis uncovered that Israeli principals’ perceptions served as key inhibitors of instructional leadership, identifying three main perceptual inhibitors: (1) perceptions regarding principal-teacher relationships; (2) perceptions regarding the role of the principal; and (3) perceptions regarding the goal of schooling. These findings expands the available knowledge by illustrating how for Israeli principals, the inhibitors of instructional leadership did not only involve the constraints and capabilities of school principals but also deep disagreements with the conceptual framework that underpins instructional leadership. Implications and further research are discussed.     

Leadership for school-based teacher professional development: the experience of a Chinese preschool

In recent years, the role of school principals in providing leadership, and the impact of that leadership in promoting teacher professional development for building school capacity has attracted increasing attention worldwide. The study described in this paper explores the practices of leadership for promoting school-based teacher professional development (SBTPD) through a case study of a preschool in Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region of China. The case study examines leadership and SBTPD. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The research participants were the management team and teachers from the case study school. The findings of the study indicate that direction setting, communication and collaboration were associated with the practice of leadership for promoting SBTPD. We argue that teacher participation in decision-making is an important factor influencing the practice of leadership and its impact on SBTPD. There are implications for developing a critical awareness of the constraints that limit the extent to which SBTPD can be empowering in the hierarchical school structure in a Chinese educational context.     

Preparing principals on the U.S.-Mexico border and beyond: A call to confront fear,uncertainty, and the marginalization of Mexican American Students

The recent presidential election and an increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric and deportations foster greater uncertainty and fear in Mexican American immigrant communities. In the border city of El Paso, Texas, teachers and principals report how fear and uncertainty negatively impact their campuses, students, and school-family relationships. The purpose of this article is to prompt a regional and national discussion about the preparation of principals who work in Mexican American and immigrant communities, because current professional standards and so-called “best-practices” in school leadership do not sufficiently address the critical social justice issues central to supporting students and families in the present and immediate future. To catalyze this dialogue, I offer five school leadership recommendations developed in collaboration with El Paso teachers and school leaders working in Mexican American immigrant communities. I hope scholars, educators, policymakers, parents, and activists will collectively consider these recommendations as well offer other viable solutions, strategies, practices, and approaches to preparing school leaders in these uncertain and unjust times.     

THE COURSE OF "CULTURE" IN MULTICULTURALISM

A bstract .  In this essay Tim McDonough analyzes a number of different positions within the ongoing discussion on multicultural education in order to provide a conceptual map of the development of the term "culture." His examination of the discourse begins with liberal multiculturalism; moves through the stages of difference, critical, and poststructural multiculturalism; and ends with what he terms "transfigurative multiculturalism." McDonough describes how a conception of culture as a field of collective symbolic work has been arrived at through a dialectical movement of the concept across these different phases of multicultural discourse. This review does not attempt to provide a comprehensive account of the complex discourse of multiculturalism. Rather, McDonough charts a course representative of the field for the purpose of enhancing the readers' understanding of "transfigurative" multiculturalism, which represents a fresh approach in the continuing inquiry into democratic multicultural education in an increasingly global society.     

ESSAY REVIEW

This paper advances the analysis of multiculturalism by examining multiculturalism in a contextualized manner. To understand multiculturalism and assess its effects on the recognition of migrant children, researchers need to analyse multicultural practices in schools by taking into account the social mirrors resulting from different social and structural conditions, such as national ideologies and the ethos of reception. The analysis of multicultural policies in four different types of daycare centres enrolling migrant workers’ children in Israel—community, Catholic, municipal, and those supported by private associations—points to three types of contextualized multicultural models: contextualized misrecognition, contextualized recognition, and de‐contextualized recognition. By juxtaposing recognition or misrecognition appearing at the daycare level with legal and ideological social mirrors, multicultural patterns can acquire a different meaning. Municipal daycares with a few migrant children as well as daycares supported by private associations that adopt a ‘blind‐homogenizing’ approach reflect an absence of recognition that is contextualized in the larger society. Community daycares adopting a survival approach, Catholic daycares applying a ‘business as usual’ approach, and municipal daycares enrolling a large number of migrant children adopting a multicultural approach reflect different degrees of cultural and religious recognition. However, when analysed in the larger local or national context, this recognition results in a de‐contextualized recognition that suppresses the beneficial character of the multicultural education provided.     

Instructional and Distributed Self-leadership for School Improvement: Experiences of Schools in the Kavango Region

This article uses the lens of self-leadership to understand the leadership practice of school principals in the Kavango region of Namibia. Self-leadership emphasises the focus on leading the self to enhance one's leadership in the organisation. Self-leadership will always function with other leadership styles; hence, the article uses instructional and distributed leadership styles to understand the possibility of principals having an influence on the improvement of academic quality in schools. This article explores how six secondary school principals in the Kavango region have employed self-leadership styles to improve and sustain the performance of learners. The study adopted a qualitative method that examined the selfleadership of the six school principals in the Kavango region. The data were collected from the six principals and two teachers of each school by using semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that school principals unknowingly employ self-leadership in their schools and in the process use distributed leadership together with instructional leadership to collaborate and share their leadership with teachers.     

Democratic school leadership reforms in Kenya: cultural and historical challenges

In this article we discuss students’, teachers’ and school principals’ perceptions of democratic school leadership reforms in Kenya. The article is based on a study that was conducted in two phases. In phase one (conducted between September and December 2007), interviews were undertaken with 12 school principals in which understandings of democratic school leadership were explored. These data were then used to develop a rationale for selecting the case schools. The second phase (conducted between January and April 2008) was an in‐depth case study of two schools. The findings reveal that school principals have made efforts to inculcate democratic school leadership by involving teachers in decision making on school matters. The principals also allow students to participate in matters such as election of prefects and holding class and house meetings. However, most teachers and principals do not support what they referred to as ‘full democracy’ for students and instead prefer what they called ‘partial democracy’ based on historical and cultural factors.     

Instructional leadership in centralised systems: evidence from Greek high-performing secondary schools

This paper examines the enactment of instructional leadership (IL) in high-performing secondary schools (HPSS), and the relationship between leadership and learning in raising student outcomes and encouraging teachers’ professional learning in the highly centralised context of Greece. It reports part of a comparative research study focused on whether, and to what extent, IL has been embraced by Greek school leaders. The study is exploratory, using a qualitative multiple case design to examine two HPSS in Athens. The research design involved a qualitative approach using several different methods, including semi-structured interviews with school principals, deputy heads, subject teachers and subject advisers, plus observation of leadership practice and meetings and scrutiny of relevant policy documents. The findings show that IL is conceptualised as an informal collaborative leadership practice, interwoven with the official multi-dimension role of Greek principals and their ‘semi-IL’ role. In the absence of official IL ‘actors’, teachers’ leadership has been expanding.     

Leading for social justice in challenging school contexts

This article is part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) and aims to analyse the success factors of two Spanish secondary school principals working in the line of social justice in challenging contexts. The factors are arranged in traits and beliefs of principals and in the strategies they used to bring successful leadership. The article concludes by showing a model of leadership that emphasizes both personal and professional characteristics of principals and their central role as agents of social change.