Schools as Communities: Contemporary Transformative Leadership in Educational Practice

• In Event: 58.069 - Revisiting Equitable Educational Opportunity in Increasingly Pluralistic School Contexts

Abstract

In order to attend to the unique needs of an increasingly diverse student population, instead of an administrative control over the school community, contemporary educational leaders must challenge traditional conceptions of leadership by using alternative practices. Therefore, this paper, which draws from a critical ethnographic study located in a southwest urban charter high school, examines the use of transformative leadership practices (TLP) as a mechanism to revitalize educational leadership by improving equity and quality with increased community-oriented practices (Foster, 1986; Foster, 1989; Shields, 2010a, 2010b). More specifically, these contemporary school leaders apply the transformative framework by viewing the school as a community where all community members, including administrators, faculty, staff, students, parent/guardians, and other neighborhood stakeholders, are actively involved and empowered in the educational processes (Freire, 1970; Furman, 2004). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how schools become sustainable communities and in what ways administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents/guardians, and community stakeholders are involved in school decision-making, events, and opportunities. As such, traditional school leadership practices are being challenged as the needs, values, and voices of the entire school community are legitimized. Recommendations include utilizing the practices of the various school leaders as templates for other schools looking to shape sustainable school communities.

Author

• Linsay DeMartino, The University of Arizona