The Rural Social Justice Leader: An Exploratory Profile in Resilience

Abstract

An exploratory investigation was conducted into the motivations and leadership traits of five rural school superintendents who over time evidenced a commitment to social justice. This effort meets a call in the research literature by Furman (2012), who noted that “to date, the literature offers few specifics about the actual practice of social justice leadership in K–12 schools and the capacities needed by school leaders to engage in this practice” (p. 192). Also noted has been the lack of attention to rural social justice and rural education internationally (Cuervo, 2009; Tikly & Barrett, 2009). To address this deficiency, a qualitative methods approach was used. As a result, we sought to compile a profile for the rural social justice leader who is capable of engendering strong social justice–oriented rural leadership. Findings suggest that these superintendents were attracted by, as well as challenged by, the work. Moreover, themes revealed how these superintendents worked to sustain themselves and to maintain resiliency through various strategies, including finding their rudder, managing the work, establishing relationships, and seeking out mentors or relying on spiritual guidance.