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Cooper, C. W. (2010). Educational leaders as cultural workers: Engaging families and school communities through transformative leadership. New perspectives in educational leadership: Exploring social, political, and community contexts and meaning, 173-196.

Gooden, M. A., Davis, B. W., Spikes, D. D., Hall, D. L., & Lee, L. (2018). Leaders Changing How They Act by Changing How They Think: Applying Principles of an Anti-Racist Principal Preparation Program. TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD, 120(14).

Jones, S., Kahn, J., Nelson, B., and Temko, S. (2019). Year 2 Report: A Quasi-Experiemental Evaluation of Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence in Two Middle Schools. Retrieved from www.lions-quest.org/evaluationreports

Mitra, D. L. (2008). Amplifying student voice. Educational Leadership, 66(3), 20-25.

Welton, A., Harris,T. ,LaLonde,P., & Moyer, R.(2015). Social justice education in a diverse classroom: Examining high school discussions about race, power, and privilege. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(8), 549-570.

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Why Is Social and Emotional Learning Important for Equity in Education?

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A Social Justice Leader Amplifies Marginalized Voices

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A Social Justice Leader Amplifies Marginalized Voices

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In the education setting, the traditional hierarchy places the administration and principal at the top, teachers in the middle, and students and parents at the bottom. Social justice leaders give voice to populations that traditionally are left out of decision-making.

Wilson Cooper (2010) outlines a needed shift from parental "involvement" to parental "engagement" in school management. Traditionally, parents are not welcomed into any role that would give them a voice in reshaping the structure of the school. When parents are given a voice, it is usually the white, middle-to-upper class parents who have the "cultural capital" to assert their influence. By giving parents of all students a voice, school leaders can reduce inequities in academic outcomes and reshape marginalizing structures.

Mitra (2009) focuses on elevating student voice in school reform. Student-led reform efforts not only provide students with agency, it also forces adults - teachers and administrators - to challenge their own perceptions of what is going on in a school's culture and climate.

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Leadership for social justice requires honest introspection of one’s own professional work. This can often be uncomfortable, but it is necessary. In my professional life, I am the director of a social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. The SEL “movement,” such as one exists, is currently struggling with issues of equity. Many SEL programs, our own included, began and were cultivated in predominantly white, predominantly middle-to-upper middle class school districts. Advocates spent years presenting SEL as a universal matter (e.g. “all students need these skills”) without ever considering the contextual realities that adversely impact marginalized populations. These realities include disparities in discipline policies and feelings of disconnection to school. Only recently have SEL advocates began analyzing how programs might need to be adapted to fit the needs of all populations, while also drawing explicit connections to the more systematic conditions within schools and districts that need changing. The National Equity Project has been a leader in forcing the SEL movement to confront issues of equity that were previously overlooked or under-emphasized.

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My philosophy of social justice leadership in education is based on two core tenets. First, a social just leader works to create equitable education outcomes for all students regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, or any other demographic. This includes creating safe and supportive learning environments for all students regardless of demographic.

Second, a social justice leader works to dismantle the institutional structures embedded in the educational system and society as a whole that have created inequitable education outcomes and ineffective conditions for learning.

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Social Justice Leadership from a place of traditional dominance

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Social Justice Leadership from a place of traditional dominance

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A social justice leader from the traditionally dominant class – that is to say, a white, heterosexual, upper middle class Protestant male – recognizes the benefits that belong to that class has provided to him since birth. In recognizing these benefits, he begins to dismantle the power structures that have provided these benefits, and intentionally works to elevate marginalized voices and communities. As noted in Gooden, et al, "privileges and advantages primarily benefit White people but are often invisible to them. Because the overwhelming majority of educators in America are White, the acknowledgement and extinguishing of systematic racism necessarily requires their action." (Gooden, Davis, Spikes, Hall, and Lee, 2018). Social justice leaders must explicitly call out racism by name and work to combat it; passivity towards racism is tantamount to endorsing it.

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In "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. King expresses frustration with the "white moderate" who prioritizes order and politeness over justice for marginalized peoples. Through reflection, I know that in the past, I have been guilty of prioritizing "politeness" or the avoidance of confrontation rather than confronting racism head-on.

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Earlier this year, our organization received the final report of a two-year evaluation of our curriculum conducted in a school in New York. The school in question has a population of 72% Latinx and 22% African-American students. While the report detailed positive effects in student outcomes, the criticisms in the qualitative portion of the study has forced me to reexamine my own preconceived notions of the work we were doing. As outlined in the study,

Another perceived barrier to successful implementation was teachers’ perceptions that the program did not necessarily fit the needs of their student population. Teachers in both years of the program reported that they had to make adaptations to the curriculum based on race, ethnicity, class, background, and the maturity of content to make it more relevant to their students. One teacher commented, 'I try to come up with my own examples and stuff like that. Because some of it … it doesn’t relate to our kids. It’s very middle class and our students are not middle class.' (Jones, Kahn, Nelson, and Temko, 2019).

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A Social Justice Leader is Capable of Introspection and Reflection

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A Social Justice Leader is Capable of Introspection and Reflection

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Leadership for social justice requires honest introspection of one’s own professional work. This can often be uncomfortable, but it is necessary. As stated in Welton, et al:

Ongoing personal reflection is another critical component of a social justice learning environment. This self-reflective process helps us to not become passive. We should engage in constant integration and consciousness of our respective positionalities and remain open minded, acknowledging that there are always more possibilities to consider. In addition, personal reflection helps us make connections about the complexity of our identities within the larger sociopolitical context. It is through self-reflection, being vulnerable, and the willingness to grow and change, that education, as a practice of freedom, is possible. (Welton, Harris, LaLonde and Moyer, 2015).