Book Review: On Educational Leadership as Emancipatory Practice by Duncan Waite

Emancipation is derived from the Latin word “emancipare,” which refers to the liberation of enslaved people. This term was used to liberate Jews in Europe for almost 500 years, who were forced to live separately and were not legally considered citizens. In addition, the term “emancipation” is used in the US to refer to the struggle for complete liberation from slavery, culminating in the Civil War of 1861–1865. Emancipation is also associated with women's efforts to get equal treatment and rights, including the right to vote in parliamentary representatives, equal pay, education, and others (Cudworth & Hobden, 2017). Emancipation requires the abolition of power and the pursuit of more humane and equal treatment for all people. Undoubtedly, emancipation is an important issue that needs attention. Nietzsche believes that teachers, as educated people, can show students the way, as agents of the future, to fight for this emancipation (Pellerin, 2014). The things that underlie Duncan Waite, a professor of education and community leadership, discuss further the practice of emancipation and how education contributes to it.

Duncan Waite invited the reader to consider the other side of education, namely as one of the main components in individual self-liberation from the dark sides of humanity, which turn out to be shrouded in a dark mist in the form of the dark heart of educational leadership. In more detail, this book examines the problems of educational leadership as an emancipatory practice and identifies the challenges and responsibilities faced by schools and schooling. The issues are not unfamiliar, but Duncan Waite tried to offer several options that can be used as solutions along with their discussion in various contexts, such as the social, cultural, economic, and political fields. This book provides extensive literature over a long period and can cover a wide range of topics. The data used by the author comes from the author's personal experience and research as a person who has concerns about the issue of educational leadership through observations and interviews and is dominated by various kinds of literature presented as mutually supportive and contradictory. The author uses this source exactly and only uses a few other essential sources.

We believe in the assumption that education is a means of emancipation and schools are seen as a bridge to achieve emancipation, so there are many ways to improve schools. Nevertheless, in practice, the emancipation of education itself has not materialized. Low teacher salaries, a high workload, and tremendous pressure from authorities on teachers and administrators characterize it. They are pressed by time, the number of children they are responsible for, and the burden of assignments inside and outside the classroom. This book comprehensively explains the school as a greedy institution that demands administrators to work as enslaved people and carry the burden of professional responsibility. In addition, this book tells about imperial hubris, namely the tendency of leaders, countries, institutions, or organizations to act based on privileges without regard to the rights, feelings, or interests of those in a less powerful position. Its characteristics are arrogance, intolerance of criticism, ambition, aggression, slavery, and others. This book emphasizes that we recognize the imperial hubris around us, especially within ourselves, and strive for more humane treatment. This book also emphasizes that educators and educational leaders develop critical awareness, start changing themselves, and then move on to change other educators, organizations, and systems to realize emancipation.

The book explores issues related to liberation, emancipation, social justice, and the role of leadership in realizing the promise of educational emancipation. This book presents critical reflections not only on the education sector but also on various sectors, such as social, cultural, economic, and political. So this book is intended for students, teachers, education leaders, and everyone. For leaders and prospective leaders, this book encourages them to fight for emancipation and not practice imperial hubris. For teachers, it is perfect for reading because it increases teacher awareness as an agent who shows the way to students and teaches students to have the courage to fight for emancipation. This book is intended to improve our understanding of the phenomena surrounding us and their profound effects on us. However, it has not presented specific concrete steps for achieving this emancipation. Although this book still has limitations, it is highly recommended to be read because the readers get its meaning as being critical of the issues of liberation and emancipation and learning to seek equal treatment for all people.