Preparing Future Leaders for Social Justice

In today's Western school systems, white, straight, middle-class and physically-able students reach higher achievements, drop out less, and have a greater chance of learning in higher education institutions than their counterparts who do not possess these characteristics. While many agree that theory, research and practice should be intertwined to support the type of schooling (and society) that values rather than marginalizes, few scholars offer ground-breaking, pragmatic approaches to developing truly transformative leaders. The purpose of this book is to offer a practical, process-oriented model aimed at helping educational leaders to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and then to take action against the oppressive elements of reality. To this end, this book utilizes transformative andragogy, which leads to a new way of seeing and a new way of being. It is the art and science of helping others to think critically and act responsibly, to examine beliefs, to accept, reject or modify values, and to engage in activism and advocacy with and for others. Therefore, this book is of great value to those who wish to prepare tomorrow's school leaders for their role as promoters of social justice and excellence.

While maintaining the provocative edge of the original edition, this second edition brings a clear-headed honesty in assessing how far we have and have not advanced in our leadership preparation programs. To be sure, the problems and possibilities are still in front of us, and the updated research pushes the field of educational leadership forward. I highly recommend the Brown & Shaked second edition as motivation to continue the intense struggles for social justice leadership in and beyond schools., With the addition of two chapters that update the relevant literature published during the intervening10 years, this second edition of Preparing Future Leaders for Social Justice, Equity, and Excellence: Bridging Theory and Practice through a Transformative Androgogy, written by Brown and Shaked, remains a vitally important read for current and aspiring educational leaders hoping to provide socially just and equitable opportunities for all students., Preparing Future Leaders for Social Justice should be in every library and used in all preparation courses. Written in highly accessible style, it is both highly theoretical and eminently practical. Covering the what, why, and how of transformative, social justice leadership, the comprehensive coverage of the topic is supported by extensive quotations from former students.

Dr. Kathleen M. Brown is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who brings 25 years of teaching, administrative, and evaluation research experience to the professorate. As a scholar-practitioner, her research interests include effective, site-based servant leadership that connects theory, practice and issues of social justice in breaking down walls and building a unified profession of educators working toward equitable schooling for all.Dr. Haim Shaked is Head of the Department of Education, Hemdat Hadarom College of Education, Netivot, Israel. As a scholar-practitioner with seventeen years of experience as school principal, his research interests include instructional leadership, system thinking in school leadership, and education reform.