Re-conceptualising Teacher Leadership Through Curriculum Inquiry in Pursuit of Social Justice: Case Study from the Canadian Context

Abstract

Changing demographics and social realities in schools have precipitated calls for social justice education and have garnered the attention of educational leaders, researchers, and school-based scholars. This chapter explores social justice leadership within the context of teacher’s curriculum work and leadership in their classrooms. It also examines the importance of teacher leadership within educational leadership discourse. Utilizing a case study approach, I posit an alternative framework for teacher leadership at the intersection of social justice and curriculum inquiry that highlights activist bottom-up leadership. The chapter draws on research conducted in a large ethnically, racially, and linguistically urban secondary school in Southern Ontario, Canada. The findings reveal that activist teacher leadership and agency focused on the development of culturally relevant curriculum grounded in the lives and experiences of students are essential in creating success for diverse students and highlight ways that teachers construct new epistemologies for themselves.