The Will to Act: Understanding Experiences of Educational Leadership Professors Committed to Social Justice Work

• In Event: Examining Perspective and Improving Curriculum in Educational Leadership Programs

Abstract

This narrative inquiry examines stories of 15 prominent professors of educational leadership that, through their scholarship, service and teaching have exhibited a commitment to social justice work. This study explores the complexities of taking up social justice issues within higher education systems. As these professors relate their experiences, their stories highlight problems that the field of social justice leadership preparation faces today, namely, how to communicate the necessity for making social justice the cornerstone of leadership preparation programs, how to find the will to act upon issues when juxtaposed against systems that can be politically punitive and marginalizing, and how to inspire students of educational leadership to deeply reflect on their own commitment to act upon injustices present within schools.

Authors

• Tanya Alyson Long, Texas State University

• Michael Patrick O'Malley, Texas State University