Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice – serie

Understanding Decision-Making in Educational Contexts presents 'problem cases' confronting school leaders in real settings, and illustrates the multiple approaches that school leaders draw upon to navigate complex and challenging decision-making contexts. Although school leaders draw upon knowledge and instruments that are available to them, the approach used for this volume is decidedly Popperian in nature.In this collection, each chapter presents a case study problem, a discussion of the salient concepts and principles of the case, an exploration of problem formulation, and concludes with a decision analysis using a Popperian approach to problem solving. Each chapter concludes with lessons learned and the expected decision-making skills acquired from the critical analysis of each educational challenge using the Objective Knowledge Growth Framework, a Popperian decision-making approach.This book is essential reading for anyone who aspires to take on a leadership role in a school setting, or is curious to develop their understanding of leadership problems.

The best leaders lead by example, not by mandate. However, so much leadership has become conscripted by neoliberal values. Educators and politicians, who are increasingly making policy for educators, have come to believe that standardized test scores are the same as knowledge acquired, as if test scores actually measure knowledge as opposed to information. Simply put, educational policy is no longer being developed for educational purposes but education is increasingly being manipulated as an experiment in social engineering. Educational leaders are caught on the horns of a dilemma – to follow and inscribe policies they do not agree with or to “go rogue” and do what they know is needed. Leading under Pressure is aptly titled, as there is significant pressure being placed on school leaders at any stage in their careers. However, in an otherwise increasingly hostile political, commercial and natural environment, there are some rays of hope. For example, teachers still know what it is that their students need and strive to provide that, despite mandates that try to create consumers of us all. This volume is divided into three sections, the first of which seeks to explore social contexts of educational leadership. The second section explores the experiences of a variety of educational leaders in various contexts, while the third section of this volume looks at some of the consequences, unintended and otherwise, of the neoliberal commodification of education.

Never have policy initiatives been so important than in today’s society. Neoliberal manifestations, climate change, civil rights movements, and governmental reactions to these issues have created a backdrop where greater education in policy analysis and development is vital. Policy is often created for accruing power, expanding privilege, and further marginalizing oppressed groups. Educating policy developers and consumers is but one means of harnessing the positive power of policy while restraining the tendencies to pervert policy for the betterment of a powerful hegemonic elite.Policy Matters: Perspectives, Procedures, and Processes demystifies policy, exploring how it may truly be transformative in combatting hegemonic and neoliberal incursions into the educational arena. The traditional theory / practice divide is overcome here, uniquely, as educational policy is united with educational reality to empower educators, education stakeholders, and citizens to use policy, policy development, and policy initiatives for the betterment of society as a whole.

Teachers have a vital role in ensuring a quality education for all. However, education systems across the globe face growing teacher shortages. Without urgent action, this teacher gap will have significant repercussions for the sustainability of the profession and education more broadly. Teacher policies designed to tackle recruitment and retention crises vary by country. Moreover, teacher unions’ capacities to influence such reforms can differ considerably with implications for teachers’ work and professionalism. Yet, there is limited comparative research on teacher policy from the perspective of those involved in, or marginalised from, its development. Teacher Professionalism from the Margins addresses this knowledge gap by engaging critically with the policies and politics of two key policy documents in England and Sweden. Supported by interviews with former politicians, civil servants, academics, and trade union officials, it analyses the dominant discourses of teacher professionalism and highlights the epistemic status of various policy actors involved in their construction. Revealing teacher unions’ marginality, it advocates for their increased involvement in the development of policies oriented towards improving the attractiveness of the teaching profession. This book gives teachers and union officials an insight into the education policies which affect their work today. Drawing on state theory, feminist epistemology, critical linguistics, sociology of the professions, and organisation and management studies, it offers researchers and students new theoretical perspectives on professionalism and policy development. Ultimately, Teacher Professionalism from the Margins questions whether democratic engagement through political institutions is possible for unions and wider civil society.

There is a need for constant assessment of an ever-changing leadership landscape, especially in universities, as we move towards the mid-twenty-first century. Decades of university reform has turned higher education into a system of corporate universities led by millionaire executive teams who are accountable to each other, university boards and senates, and governments, but rarely students or academics – with academics being the most disposable component of the equation.Academy of the Oppressed approaches potential university reform as a system that has gone far beyond institutions being for scholars, led by scholars, driven by the creation and dissemination of knowledge, and separated from the influence of government and business. Heffernan takes Friere’s primary works as a theoretical guide to dissect how university leaders and leadership teams (the oppressors) have slowly eroded the power the academic body (the oppressed) once had in guiding the institution and themselves.The important insights collated here provide guidance to progress towards institutions where academics possess more control of the policies that guide their careers, the knowledge they create, the knowledge they share, the students they inspire, and the communities they aim to serve.

In an era where leadership in higher education is increasingly overshadowed by identity politics and institutional inaction, this timely volume offers a critical examination of the leadership vacuum that has quietly become the norm. Universities around the world are grappling with the normalization of ineffectual leadership practices that are normalized and rarely challenged.Inclusive and Innovative Leadership in Higher Education brings together a diverse array of voices and perspectives from across the globe, including Canada, Africa, and other regions, to explore the multifaceted nature of leadership in academic settings. Each chapter delves into a specific leadership dilemma, offering both critique and insight into the challenges faced by institutions today. Through a blend of qualitative and quantitative research, the contributors illuminate the complexity of leadership as it manifests in different cultural, institutional, and pedagogical contexts.Offering practical solutions, innovative strategies, and forward-thinking approaches that aim to revitalize leadership in higher education, this volume underscores that leadership is not a one-size-fits-all concept; rather, it is dynamic, context-dependent, and capable of emerging in unexpected ways. At its core, this book is a call to action. It challenges readers to rethink what leadership means, how it is practiced, and how it can be transformed to foster inclusivity, well-being, and pedagogical excellence.

School Discipline and Administrator Decision-Making has been developed for leaders, practitioners, and researchers to explore the theory and practice of decision-making, with specific reference to school administrators and their response to school discipline. This work delves into the experiences of Canadian and Mauritian principals faced with tensions―sometimes racial―regarding discipline. School leaders have the potential to make valuable changes within their schools as their influence touches on all aspects of the school building and culture. Yet, often discipline presents a challenge for school leaders as it requires a certain degree of discretion, especially when examining the issue of racial discipline disparity gaps in schools.Exploring both a Western and non-Western context, the opening chapters highlight the rigidity of behavioural policies and the desire to break from such neoliberal practices despite fears of repercussion in Mauritius. This is followed by an exploration of the decision-making of principals in Ontario and Nova Scotia in a Canadian context. The chapters challenge neoliberal policies and guidelines by questioning current practices and proposing various leadership frameworks.  By incorporating both a Canadian and Mauritian context, the authors highlight various strategies which can be used to rethink our current approaches to decision-making.

The Invisible Influences on Decision-Making explores the often unseen factors that influence decision-making in both everyday life and various professional settings, with a particular focus on policing, medicine, education, and counselling.Chitpin and Dougan present key findings and trends in decision-making research, then go on to explore the concept of indecisiveness before examining decision-making processes in these specific professions. The authors employ qualitative research methodologies, such as case studies and phenomenology, alongside social influence theories, to provide a nuanced and current understanding of decision-making within these fields. By incorporating perspectives from professionals, chapters aim to enhance public understanding and confidence in how decisions are made in these critical areas, especially within a Canadian context.While there is existing literature on decision-making in community service professions, it often remains discipline specific. The Invisible Influences on Decision-Making addresses the need for more inter-professional and interdisciplinary research, highlighting the collaborative nature of these professions and the complexities of their decision-making processes. By integrating real professional examples with research and theory, this study offers a compelling and insightful narrative that will engage researchers, practitioners, and graduate students across various fields.

There is clear evidence that teacher work is increasingly unsustainable, leading to an impact on health and well-being, and sector-wide and international challenges such as teacher retention and recruitment. Leadership, Organisation and the Sustainability of Teacher Work focuses on the intersections between educational leadership, organisational processes, well-being and how these relate to concerns regarding teacher work, workload and the sustainability of the profession.Amidst the performative pressures on teachers, the authors explain that central to all these issues is the process of leadership and its embedded nature within organisations. Leaders play an important role in developing positive workplace environments in which teachers can thrive, but their work is part of a wider flow of activities which constitute the essential nature of organisations and hence teacher work. By advocating a view of leadership, organisation and teacher work as complex, intertwined tangles of processes, this book begins to sketch out an alternative perspective for understanding educational organisations and how the work of teachers might be made sustainable.Leadership, Organisation and the Sustainability of Teacher Work argues for the need to understand leaders and leadership as part of a wider network of processes and relationships so as to draw out the complexity of the work involved for all within educational organisations. Drawing on organisational sciences, sociology, psychology and education research, it is offered for reflection and challenge to scholars in those fields interested in a sustainable future for the teaching profession.

Despite being tasked with supporting the wellbeing and emotional health of staff, students, and other members of the school community, little attention has been paid to developing the same qualities in school-level leaders. The majority of the existing academic research surrounding school-level leadership focuses on what practices and strategies leaders can engage in to supporting student outcomes. Bridging the nexus between research and practice, The Emotional Life of School-Level Leaders uses insights and interpretations derived from the disciplines of psychology and educational leadership to illustrate the rich and complex emotions inherent in school-level leaders’ work.This unique resource critically investigates approaches for promoting wellbeing and effective emotional regulation strategies among both individual school-level leaders and throughout K-12 education systems. In an era characterized by high levels of attrition, burnout and stress, Hauseman proposes communal strategies and policy levels to support school-level leaders’ emotional regulation and wellbeing, countering individualistic approaches to self-care that absolve Ministries/Departments of Education and school districts from their responsibilities to support school-level leaders.The Emotional Life of School-Level Leaders provides a unique perspective by offering insight into who school-level leaders are, and what they need to thrive both personally and professionally.

As we begin to reset in the modern era, we recognize the unfulfilled promises of democratic, socially just, and transformative educational leadership and policy. Over 100 years of such theories subsist in education scholarship, and yet policies and practices continue to reflect hegemonic values of neoliberalism, individualism, narcissism, and white-middle-class superiority.Transformative Democracy in Educational Leadership and Policy critiques education policies and practices that failed to deliver on their transformative promises, and explores more rigorous, nuanced transformative approaches within the context of the 2020s and beyond. How do we harness this potential to stimulate such a transformation in education? How do we push against neoliberal hegemony in education policy and practice, recognizing that we are now at a tipping point for transformative action? The authors address these inquiries, as we look toward a future filled with possibility and promise.This book culminates with suggestions for critical policy and leadership practice; suggestions include leadership planning as activism, decolonizing education systems, and critical instructional leadership, such as critical curriculum adoptions and transformative professional development opportunities.