Leadership Practices for Social Justice, Democratic Community, and Learning: School Principals’ Perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover leadership practices that integrate social justice and democratic community for student learning. Data were gathered through focus group discussions with school principals. The responses were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for emerging themes. Leadership practices that were identified as themes in this study included shared decision making, advocacy, dispositions and relationships, and social control with purpose. Participants perceived public participation in decision making and “doing what is best for kids” as shared values. However, they were concerned that such participation was not always an honored ideal.