Session Information
26 SES 12 B, Perceptions of Leadership
Paper Session
Contribution
The failure of education to fulfil its promise is a worldwide phenomenon. Globally, free, universal, and high quality education for all has been a UN goal for decades; yet in 2015 over 57 million primary age children worldwide were still not in school. In developing countries, where participation rates are now over 90%, equity issues still abound. Almost universally, children from dominant cultural and linguistic groups are considerably more successful than those from minoritized backgrounds. Moreover, as Oakes and Rogers (2006) posited, technical reforms will not result in equity. Neoliberal approaches will never rectify discrimination and racism. Leadership with a systemic focus on inclusion, equity and social justice is essential to address the increasingly persuasive demands for equitable educational outcomes in developed countries.
Some have argued that transformative leadership comprises such an approach (Freire, 1970; Shields, 2010; Weiner, 2003). And indeed, one can find increasing evidence that transformative school leaders can create more equitable, inclusive, and socially-just learning environments in which all students thrive and in which academic achievement soars (Bieneman, 2011; Shields, 2010). Nevertheless, the question of sustainability is often posed. Can a school remain equitable, inclusive, and successful once the transformative leader leaves? An equally important question is whether, once promoted to a system-level leadership position, a leader can maintain a transformative focus on social justice or whether the pressing technical demands of the system (finances, human resource issues, facilities, and so on) squeeze out good intentions and equitable ideologies.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence from a study of three district superintendents and three assistant superintendents responsible for teaching and learning to determine the extent to which transformative leadership is both possible and viable in system-wide leadership positions. The objectives of the study were to identify the underlying beliefs, major challenges, and predominant concerns of these superintendents. Specifically, our hope was to identify the extent to which equity concerns drive their leadership, and if such concerns were present, to understand how they played out in the leaders’ thoughts and actions, and to better determine the impact of a transformative approach on the overall success of all students.
Theoretical Framework
We approached the study from a critical perspective drawing on the theory of transformative leadership (Blackmore, 2011; Shields, 2012; Weiner, 2003) which offers a radical and critical lens for leadership. Transformative leadership begins by acknowledging the urgent mandate for deep and equitable transformation (not simply superficial change). Once this need has been identified, all scholars of transformative leadership—including those who have successfully adopted the premises in New Zealand, Bolivia, Ireland, and Scandinavia—emphasize the need for deconstructing knowledge frameworks that perpetuate inequity and reconstructing new and more equitable mental models. Regardless of the terminology, transformative leadership requires rejection of racism, classism, homophobia and other “isms” and “obias” that perpetuate inequity. It requires that we reject deficit thinking and other common excuses for differential outcomes.
Transformative leaders require moral courage if they are to redistribute power, promote the public good of democratic society and opportunities for civic participation, and to transform institutional policies and practices. In every country, educational leaders must also transform curricula and programs to ensure appropriate emphases on global citizenship, on interconnectedness and interdependence, and on the need to respect, welcome, and include the lived experiences of all children, regardless of background, in our schools.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Bieneman, P. D. (2011), Transformative leadership: The exercise of agency in educational leadership, In C. M. Shields (Ed.), Transformative Leadership: A Reader, New York, Peter Lang. Ch. 15. Blackmore, J., (2011), Leadership in pursuit of purpose: Social, economic, and political transformation, In C. M. Shields (Ed.), Transformative Leadership: A Reader, New York, Peter Lang. pp. 21-36. Dimmock, C., & Walker, A. (2004). A new approach to strategic leadership: Learning centredness, connectivity and cultural context in school design. School Leadership & Management, 24(1), 39–56. Evers, C. W., & Wu, E. H. (2006). On generalising from single case studies: Epistemological reflections. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 40(4), 511–526 Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder & Herder Oakes, J., & Rogers, J. (2006). Learning power: Organizing for education and justice, New York: Teachers College Press. Shields, C. M. (2010). Transformative leadership: Working for equity in diverse contexts, Educational Administration Quarterly, 46(4) 558–589 Shields, C. M., (2012), Transformative leadership in education: Equitable change in an uncertain and complex world, New York: Routledge. Weiner, E. J. (2003). Secretary Paulo Freire and the democratization of power: Toward a theory of transformative leadership. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35(1), 89–106
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