Social Justice Competencies in Principal Preparation Programs: An Assessment of Relative Emphasis, Pedagogies, and Needs

• In Event: Educational Leadership and the Responsibility for Inclusion

Abstract

As urgency grows for social justice-minded school leaders, understanding preparation programs’ emphases and pedagogical approaches to competency development is increasingly important. Through a needs assessment of preparation program coordinators, this study identifies the gap between performance expectations and actual practice, captures the pedagogical landscape regarding social justice competencies, reveals program needs, and establishes a knowledge base to drive future research. The findings indicate programs’ relative emphases may lack the amount of time and/or pedagogical approaches necessary to effectively develop justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion competencies. The authors propose the “ideal” capacity of aspiring leaders as one in which leadership competencies and social justice mindsets are developed through the experiential learning of active/interactive pedagogies and an Applied Critical Leadership framework.

Authors

• Daniel Moraguez, University of Virginia

• Sara L. Dexter, University of Virginia

• Davis Clement, Eastern Michigan University