Chapter 2: Retracing the Steps of the Journey: A Literature Review of Social Justice Leadership From a Global Context

The Oxford English Dictionary (2009) defines “social justice” in the following way: “Justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges in a society.” When deconstructing the components of this term, one must wonder not only what social justice looks like in a society, but how it is enacted in different settings. For the purpose of this chapter, I will provide a background of how the term has been used historically, both in Westernized nations as well as globally. From there, I highlight what “social justice” looks like in an educational setting, across a number of countries. This will be followed by a review of research on how a school leader enacts social justice leadership in her/his school and what the similarities and differences might be when looking across countries. Finally, as we know the importance of the school leader in establishing the culture and context of a school, the last section of this chapter will address the preparation of social justice leaders.