Chapter 5: “Doing” Social Justice Leadership: Connecting the Macro-and Microcontexts of Schooling

The manner in which school leaders conceptualize and enact leadership for social justice, in the face of multiple institutional, local and national priorities, is of growing interest but has yet to gain prominence in the educational leadership literature. This chapter draws on the narratives of experience of school leaders in 12 countries gathered by researchers in the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN) Social Justice Strand. Using a micropolitical lens, the authors analyze the manner in which these school leaders seek to realize plural conceptions of social justice in diverse settings. Findings suggest that a range of contextual factors enable and impede the pursuit of social justice and that successful navigation of these requires attitude, latitude, and aptitude on the part of the school leader.