Images of Educational Leadership: How Principals Make Sense of Democracy and Equity in Two Distinct Political Contexts

• In Event: 15.060 - MTCC Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: 15.060-1 - Activism and Resistance in Changing Political Contexts

Abstract

In what ways do schools’ political contexts shape principals’ willingness to pursue democratic, equitable schools that promote more than economic goals for students? What do principals’ visions for the civic purposes of schools look like in different settings? This paper answers these questions by analyzing principals’ values and practices in two political contexts – the USA and Norway. It compares the ways in which principals make sense of education and democracy in a liberal democracy with a minimalist welfare state – the USA – and in a social democracy with a robust welfare state – Norway. It helps deepen readers’ understandings about the conditions that foster greater democratic commitments in public schools, such as values about collectivism, welfarism, and goals for the common good.

Authors

• Tina M. Trujillo, University of California - Berkeley

• Jorunn Moller, University of Oslo

• Ruth Jensen, University of Oslo

• René Espinoza Kissell, University of California - Berkeley

• Eivind Larsen, University of Oslo