Bruce barnett, university of texas at san antonio (united states)
howard stevenson, university of nottingham (united kingdom)
Our studies of social justice leaders in high-need schools confirm and expand the findings from research conducted on effective turnaround school leaders (e.g., Barnett & Stevenson, forthcoming; Bryant, Cheng, & Notman, 2014; Duke, 2012). Several trends have emerged in how these leaders serve their communities while combating the educational, social, and political challenges they encounter:
- School leaders altered the school’s vision and culture by clarifying and communicating desired values and performance expectations, developing integrated intervention plans using comprehensive data collection and decision-making processes, being organized and planning thoughtfully, and relocating teachers to other schools if they were unable or unwilling to meet new performance expectations.
- After gaining a better appreciation of the chronic problems facing families living in poverty, school leaders utilized school resources to purchase food for students; worked with local agencies to provide medical, social, and educational services; organized multicultural activities for parents and community members; and provided job training for disabled adults.
- Principals utilized teachers’ expertise and developed their capacity by engaging teachers in decision making and involving them in determining areas for improvement, planning and implementing goals, and reviewing progress.
- Principals improved and monitored the teaching and learning process in their schools by retaining talented teachers, redesigning classroom assignments across the entire curriculum, utilizing externally-mandated resources to stimulate reform in their schools, and acknowledging community needs and interests in designing curriculum.
- The underlying motivation and rationale leaders employed in working in these challenging circumstances revealed their desire to be student-centered, community-centered, and politically astute while acknowledging how their own personal life experiences have shaped their values.
References:
Barnett B., & Stevenson, H. (forthcoming). International perspectives in urban educational leadership: Social justice leadership and high-need schools. In M. A. Khalifa, C. Grant-Overton, & N. W. Arnold (Eds.), Handbook of urban school leadership. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Brown, L., & Conrad, D. A. (2007). School leadership in Trinidad and Tobago: The challenge of context. Comparative Education Review, 51(2), 181-201.
Bryant, M., Cheng, A., & Notman R. (2014) (Eds). Exploring high need and social justice leadership in schools around the globe. Special issue of Management in Education, 28(3), 77-120.
Duke, D. L. (2012). Tinkering and turnarounds: Understanding the contemporary campaign to improve low-performing schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 17, 9-24.
Lumby, J., Crow, G., & Pashiardis, P. (2008) (Eds.). International handbook on the preparation and development of school leaders. New York: Routledge.
Pashiardis, P. (2008). The dark side of the moon: Being locally responsive to global issues. Keynote presentation at the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management Conference, Durban, South Africa.
Walker, A., & Dimmock, C. (2000). Mapping the way ahead: Leading educational leadership into a globalised world. School Leadership & Management, 20(2), 227-233.
Walker, A., & Townsend, A. (2010). On school management - International Council on School Effectiveness and Improvement, Commonwealth Council on Educational Administration and Management (pp. 681-697). In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education. Oxford, England: Elsevier.