Principal Social Justice Leadership: A Systematic Review of 20 Years of Research, 2005–2024

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Reimagining the Possible: Re/Conceptualizing Leadership

Abstract

Principal social justice leadership has gained attention in education. This PRISMA-based systematic review of 133 articles (2005–2024) reveals: (1) context-dependent definitions lacking consensus; (2) evolving research themes; (3) qualitative dominance with increasing quantitative use; and (4) expansion beyond the U.S. Yet cross-national research, large-scale data, and validated tools remain limited. The review underscores the need to advance social justice-oriented leadership policies and embed PSJL as a core competency in principal preparation and leadership practice.
Keywords: educational leadership, principal social justice leadership, systematic review

Authors

• Jiani Rong, East China Normal University

• Shuangye Chen, East China Normal University