Educational Leaders as Mediators of Social Injustice: A Poststructural Perspective on Power and Politics

• In Event: 58.020 - Fostering Educational Equity and Social Justice

Abstract

Foucault’s work on “regimes of truth” and power/knowledge relationships serve as theory base for critically examining issues of power and politics in education. Specifically, this study focused on the work of educational leaders as ‘mediators of power and politics’ in an era of social injustice. Specifically, the study critically examined how “regimes of truth” shape the social identity of educational leaders and work to implicate particular politics and beliefs in the social practices of educational leaders. A framework of ‘leader as mediator was used as an interpretive poststructural lens to analyze narrative data collected from participants.

Author

• Patrick M. Jenlink, Stephen F. Austin State University