Micropolitical Savvy in Educational Organizations: Navigating Ambiguous Situations and Ethical Dilemmas

• In Event: The Inner World of School Leaders: Caring, Morality, Ethics, and Spirituality

Abstract

While the rare leader may speak to their school environment as not political, most will agree that even the most laudable of intentions and goals must be designed and enacted with a cautious awareness and savvy of the larger environment of the school. Without such a skill set, the goal may be easily disrupted by differing conceptions, competing priorities, aggressive disagreement, and indeed lazy indifference. This paper is a qualitative exploration of the ambiguous and ethical dilemmas 30 social justice educational leaders encountered in their schools, along with the micropolitical strategies they developed and implemented along the way. Several tactical themes emerged, though the ways these strategies were employed differs significantly from those described in the business literature.

Author

• Nathalie Carrier, OISE/University of Toronto