Socially Just School Leadership as Marketing in a Competitive Choice District

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Social Justice Leadership: Troubling Frameworks, Reform, and Restoration

Abstract

As school districts increasingly adopt school choice policies, the principalship is changing to a CEO-like role that disregards issues of social justice in favor of marketplace values. Unfortunately, justice-minded leaders, such as socially-just leaders, face a dilemma of seeking justice while also competing in the education market to keep their school open. Within this multiple case study we explore how school leaders addressed this dilemma with an eye to how leaders’ justice work related to competitive strategies. We seek to identify how justice-minded may work within the educational market while also protecting diversity. Findings include that participants were motivated to conduct justice work because of its potential marketing function, and also that justice work may serve an unintentional marketing purpose.

Authors

• Meagan Richard, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Jason Salisbury, University of Illinois at Chicago