Social Justice Leadership in Educational Market Contexts

• In Event: Diverse Stances on Leadership, Reforms, and Equity: Considering Frameworks, Systemic Change, Markets, Responsibility, and Disruptions

Abstract

As school districts increasingly incorporate educational market policies, school leaders’ responsibilities have shifted in focus, potentially at the cost of social justice. While research has examined how school leadership changes within these contexts, research has not yet investigated how social justice leadership, specifically, intersects with market contexts. Because social justice leaders lead in unique ways, there is reason to believe that market contexts shape social justice leadership in unique ways. This study employed a critical urban theory framework and a mixed-methods design to problematize and foreground educational marketplace contexts as a lens through which to understand social justice leadership within these contexts. This study provides insights for those who prepare, study, and write policy that impacts school leaders.

Author

• Meagan Richard, University of Illinois at Chicago