This article reimagines the social justice educational leadership field, highlighting the leadership of youth, parents, and community. We examine widely cited social justice educational leadership publications, in addition to critical research on youth voice, parent engagement, and community organizing. Our analysis reveals that the field often overlooks youth, parent, and community educational leadership. Through the theory of collective transformative agency, we propose a new framework for dismantling deficit ideologies and disempowering practices in leadership preparation programs. The article concludes with specific proposals for programs to re-envision the “how” and “who” of leadership preparation.
AuerbachS. (2007a). From moral supporters to struggling advocates: Reconceptualizing parent roles in education through the experience of working-class families of color. Urban Education, 42, 250-283.
2.
AuerbachS. (2007b). Visioning parent engagement in urban schools. Journal of School Leadership, 17, 699-734.
3.
AuerbachS. (2009). Walking the walk: Portraits in leadership for family engagement in urban schools. The School Community Journal, 19, 9-31.
4.
BangM.VossoughiS. (2016). Participatory design research and educational justice: Studying learning and relations within social change making. Cognition and Instruction, 34, 173-193. doi:10.1080/07370008.2016.1181879
5.
Baquedano-LópezP.AlexanderR. A.HernandezS. J. (2013). Equity issues in parental and community involvement in schools: What teacher educators need to know. Review of Research in Education, 37, 149-182.
6.
Barajas-LópezF.IshimaruA. M. (2016). “Darles el lugar”: A place for nondominant family knowing in educational equity. Urban Education. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0042085916652179
7.
BautistaM.BertrandM.MorrellE.ScorzaD.MatthewsC. (2013). Participatory action research and city youth: Methodological insights from the Council of Youth Research. Teachers College Record, 115(10), 1-23.
8.
BeckettL.GlassR. D.MorenoA. P. (2013). A pedagogy of community building: Reimagining parent involvement and community organizing in popular education efforts. Association of Mexican-American Educators Journal, 6(1), 5-14.
9.
BertrandM. (2014). Reciprocal dialogue between educational decision makers and students of color: Opportunities and obstacles. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(4), 812-843. doi:10.1177/0013161X14542582
10.
BertrandM.FordA. (2015). “Planting the seeds”: The influence of the Council of Youth Research on education policy. In ConnerJ.Ebby-RosinR. (Eds.), Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Student voice in American education policy (Vol. 114, pp. 189-202). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
11.
BrooksJ. S.Jean-MarieG.NormoreA. H.HodginsD. W. (2007). Distributed leadership for social justice: Exploring how influence and equity are stretched over an urban high school. Journal of School Leadership, 17, 378-408.
12.
BrownK. M. (2006). Leadership for social justice and equity: Evaluating a transformative framework and andragogy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 42, 700-745. doi:10.1177/0013161X06290650
13.
Calabrese BartonA.DrakeC.PerezJ. G.St LouisK.GeorgeM. (2004). Ecologies of parental engagement in urban education. Educational Researcher, 33(4), 3-12.
14.
Cambron-McCabeN.McCarthyM. M. (2005). Educating school leaders for social justice. Educational Policy, 19, 201-222. doi:10.1177/0895904804271609
15.
CammarotaJ. (2014). Misspoken in Arizona: Latina/o students document the articulations of racism. Equity & Excellence in Education, 47, 321-333.
16.
CammarotaJ.Berta-ÁvilaM.AyalaJ.RiveraM.RodriguezL. (2016). PAR Entremundos: A practitioner’s guide. In ValenzuelaA. (Ed.), Growing critically conscious teachers: A social justice curriculum for educators of Latino/a youth (pp. 67-89). New York, NY: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.
17.
CammarotaJ.FineM. (2008). Youth participatory action research: A pedagogy for transformational resistance. In CammarotaJ.FineM. (Eds.), Revolutionizing education: Youth participatory action research in motion (pp. 1-12). New York, NY: Routledge.
18.
CapperC. A.TheoharisG.SebastianJ. (2006). Toward a framework for preparing leaders for social justice. Journal of Educational Administration, 44, 209-224. doi:10.1108/09578230610664814
19.
CapperC. A.YoungM. D. (2014). Ironies and limitations of educational leadership for social justice: A call to social justice educators. Theory Into Practice, 53(2), 158-164. doi:10.1080/00405841.2014.885814
20.
ConnerJ. O.RosenS. M. (2015). Zombies, truants, and flash mobs: How youth organizers respond to and shape youth policy. In ConnerJ.Ebby-RosinR. (Eds.), Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Student voice in American education policy (Vol. 114, pp. 203-220). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
21.
CooperB. (2015). Intersectionality. In DischL.HawkesworthM. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of feminist theory (pp. 385-406). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
22.
CooperC. W. (2009). Performing cultural work in demographically changing schools: Implications for expanding transformative leadership frameworks. Educational Administration Quarterly, 45, 694-724. doi:10.1177/0013161X09341639
23.
CruzM. R. (2008). Mexican immigrant parents advocating for school reform. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
24.
CutlerW. W.III (2000). Parents and schools: The 150-year struggle for control in American education. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
25.
DantleyM. E. (2003). Critical spirituality: Enhancing transformative leadership through critical theory and African American prophetic spirituality. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 6(1), 3-17. doi:10.1080/1360312022000069987
26.
DantleyM. E. (2005). The power of critical spirituality to act and to reform. Journal of School Leadership, 15(5), 500-518.
27.
DantleyM. E.GreenT. L. (2015). Problematizing notions of leadership for social justice. Journal of School Leadership, 25, 820-837.
28.
DantleyM. E.TillmanL. C. (2010). Social justice and moral transformative leadership. In MarshallC.OlivaM. (Ed.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 19-34). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
29.
Delgado GaitanC. (1992). The power of community: Mobilizing for family and schooling. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
30.
Delgado GaitanC. (2012). Culture, literacy, and power in family–community–school relationships. Theory Into Practice, 51, 305-311.
31.
DeMatthewsD.MawhinneyH. (2014). Social justice leadership and inclusion. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50, 844-881. doi:10.1177/0013161X13514440
32.
DolanT.ChristensB. D.LinC. (2015). Combining youth organizing and youth participatory action research to strengthen student voice in education reform. In ConnerJ.Ebby-RosinR. (Eds.), Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Student voice in American education policy (Vol. 114, pp. 153-170). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
33.
DrynessA. (2011). Mothers united: An immigrant struggle for socially just education. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
34.
EngeströmY. (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki, Finland: Orienta-Konsultit.
35.
EpsteinJ. L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 701-712.
36.
EpsteinJ. L. (2001). School, family, and community partnerships: Preparing educators, and improving schools. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
37.
EpsteinJ. L. (2009). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
38.
FernándezE. (2016). Illuminating agency: A Latin@ immigrant parent’s testimonio on the intersection of immigration reform and schools. Equity & Excellence in Education, 49, 350-362.
39.
FernándezE.LópezG. R. (2017). When parents behave badly: A critical policy analysis of parent involvement in schools. In YoungM. D.DiemS. (Eds.), Critical Approaches to Education Policy Analysis: Moving Beyond Tradition (pp. 111-129). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
40.
FoxM.FineM. (2015). Leadership in solidarity: Notions of leadership through critical participatory action research with young people and adults. New Directions for Student Leadership, 148, 45-58.
41.
FoxM.MedirattaK.RuglisJ.StoudtB.ShahS.FineM. (2010). Critical youth engagement: Participatory action research and organizing. In SherrodL. R.Torney-PurtaJ.FlanaganC. A. (Eds.), Handbook of research on civic engagement in youth (pp. 621-650). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
42.
FratturaE.CapperC. A. (2007). Leading for social justice: Transforming schools for all learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
43.
FurmanG. (2012). Social justice leadership as praxis: Developing capacities through preparation programs. Educational Administration Quarterly, 48, 191-229. doi:10.1177/0013161X11427394
44.
FurmanG.ShieldsC. M. (2005). How can educational leaders promote and support social justice and democratic community in schools? In FirestoneW. A.RiehlC. (Eds.), A new agenda for research in educational leadership (pp. 119-137). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
45.
GarciaA.MirraN.MorrellE.MartinezA.ScorzaD. (2015). The Council of Youth Research: Critical literacy and civic agency in the digital age. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 31, 151-167.
46.
GoldE.SimonE.BrownC. (2002). The education organizing indicators framework: A user’s guide. Chicago, IL: Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform.
47.
GoldfarbK. P.GrinbergJ. (2002). Leadership for social justice: Authentic participation in the case of a community center in Caracas, Venezuela. Journal of School Leadership, 12, 157-173.
48.
GoodenM. A.DantleyM. E. (2012). Centering race in a framework for leadership preparation. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 7, 237-253.
49.
GutiérrezK. D.EngeströmY.SanninoA. (2016). Expanding educational research and interventionist methodologies. Cognition and Instruction, 34, 275-284. doi:10.1080/07370008.2016.1183347
50.
HaapasaariA.EngeströmY.KerosuoH. (2016). The emergence of learners’ transformative agency in a Change Laboratory intervention. Journal of Education and Work, 29, 232-262.
51.
HallingerP. (2012). A conceptual framework for systematic reviews of research in educational leadership and management. Journal of Educational Administration, 51, 126-149.
52.
HallingerP. (2014). Reviewing reviews of research in educational leadership: An empirical assessment. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50, 539-576.
53.
IshimaruA. M. (2013). From heroes to organizers: Principals and education organizing in urban school reform. Educational Administration Quarterly, 49, 3-51.
54.
IshimaruA. M. (2017). From family engagement to equitable collaboration. Education Policy, 78, 149-182.
55.
Jean-MarieG.NormoreA. H.BrooksJ. S. (2009). Leadership for social justice: Preparing 21st century school leaders for a new social order. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 4, 1-31. doi:10.1177/194277510900400102
56.
JeynesW. (2012). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of different types of parental involvement programs for urban students. Urban Education, 47, 706-742.
57.
KhalifaM. A.GoodenM. A.DavisJ. E. (2016). Culturally responsive school leadership: A synthesis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 86, 1272-1311. doi:10.3102/0034654316630383
58.
KirshnerB.JeffersonA. (2015). Participatory democracy and struggling schools: Making space for youth in school turnarounds. Teachers College Record, 117(6), 1-26.
59.
KroegerJ. (2008) Doing the difficult: Schools and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer families. In Turner-VorbeckT.Miller MarshM. (Eds.), Other kinds of families: Embracing diversity in schools (pp. 121-138). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
60.
LacV. T. (2017). Centering student voice: A multi-level analysis of doing participatory action research alongside minoritized youth (Dissertation). University of Wisconsin–Madison.
61.
Ladson-BillingsG. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, 35(7), 3-12.
62.
LarsonC. L.MurtadhaK. (2002). Leadership for social justice. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, 101, 134-161. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7984.2002.tb00007.x
63.
LiouD. D.Rotheram-FullerE. (2016). Where is the real reform? African American students and their school’s expectations for academic performance. Urban Education. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0042085915623340
64.
LópezG. R. (2001). The value of hard work: Lessons on parent involvement from an (im)migrant household. Harvard Educational Review, 7, 416-438.
65.
LópezG. R.GonzálezM. L.FierroE. (2010). Educational leadership along the U.S.-Mexico border: Crossing borders/embracing hybridity/building bridges. In MarshallC.OlivaM. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 100-119). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
66.
LozenskiB. D. (2016). Jazz researchers: Riding the dissonance of pedagogy and inquiry. Critical Questions in Education, 7, 268-286.
67.
MansfieldK. C. (2014). How listening to student voices informs and strengthens social justice research and practice. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50, 392-430.
68.
MarshJ. A.HallM. (2017). Challenges and choices: A multidistrict analysis of statewide mandated democratic engagement. American Educational Research Journal. Advance online publication doi:10.3102/0002831217734803
69.
MarshJ. A.StrunkK. O.Bush-MecenasS. C.HuguetA. (2015). Democratic engagement in district reform: The evolving role of parents in the Los Angeles Public School Choice Initiative. Educational Policy, 1(51), 51-84.
70.
MarshallC. (2004). Social justice challenges to educational administration: Introduction to a special issue. Educational Administration Quarterly, 40(1), 3-13. doi:10.1177/0013161X03258139
71.
MarshallC.OlivaM. (2006). Building the capacities of social justice leaders. In MarshallC.OlivaM. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 1-18). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
72.
MartinezD. C.MartínezR. A. (2016). Researching the language of race and racism in education. In KingK.LaiY.MayS. (Eds.), Research methods in language and education (pp. 503-516). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
73.
McKenzieK. B.ChristmanD. E.HernandezF.FierroE.CapperC. A.DantleyM.. . . ScheurichJ. J. (2008). From the field: A proposal for educating leaders for social justice. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44, 111-138. doi:10.1177/0013161X07309470
74.
MirraN.GarciaA.MorrellE. (2015). Doing youth participatory action research: Transforming inquiry with researchers, educators, and students. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
75.
MitraD. L.GrossS. J. (2009). Increasing student voice in high school reform: Building partnerships, improving outcomes. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37, 522-543.
76.
MollL. C.AmantiC.NeffD.GonzalezN. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, 31, 132-141.
77.
MorrellE. (2006). Youth-initiated research as a tool for advocacy and change in urban schools. In GinwrightS. A.NogueraP.CammarotaJ. (Eds.), Beyond Resistance! Youth activism and community change: New democratic possibilities for practice and policy for America’s youth (pp. 111-128). New York, NY: Routledge.
78.
MorrellE.DueñasR.GarciaV.LópezJ. (2013). Critical media pedagogy: Teaching for achievement in city schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
79.
National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional Standards for Educational Leadership. Reston, VA.
80.
OakesJ.RogersJ. (2006). Learning power: Organizing for education and justice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
81.
OlivosE. M. (2006). The power of parents: A critical perspective of bicultural parent involvement in public schools. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
82.
OlivosE. M.Jiménez-CastellanosO.OchoaA. M. (2011). Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
83.
PachecoM. (2012). Learning in/through everyday resistance: A cultural-historical perspective on community resources and curriculum. Educational Researcher, 41, 121-132. doi:10.3102/0013189X12442982
PozaL.BrooksM.ValdésG. (2014). Entre familia: Immigrant parents’ strategies for involvement in children’s schooling. School Community Journal, 24, 119-148.
86.
Quijada CerecerD. A.CahillC.BradleyM. (2013). Toward a critical youth policy praxis: Critical youth studies and participatory action research. Theory Into Practice, 52, 216-233.
87.
RodelaK. C. (2013). Latino families and parent involvement in Oregon: Current issues and models (White paper). Corvallis: Center for Latin@ Studies and Engagement, Oregon State University.
88.
RodelaK. C. (2016). Undocumented educational leadership: The development of Latina mothers into emergent social justice leaders. National Forum of Applied Educational Research Journal, 29(1-2), 21-33.
89.
RodríguezL. F.BrownT. M. (2009). From voice to agency: Guiding principles for participatory action research with youth. New Directions for Youth Development, 123, 19-34.
90.
RogersJ.FreelonR.TerriquezV. (2012). Enlisting collective help: Urban principals’ encouragement of parent participation in school decision-making. In AuerbachS. (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships (pp. 55-77). New York, NY: Routledge.
91.
RyanJ. (2006). Inclusive leadership (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
92.
SanninoA.EngeströmY.LemosM. (2016). Formative interventions for expansive learning and transformative agency. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 25, 599-633. doi:10.1080/10508406.2016.1204547
93.
SantamaríaL. J. (2014). Critical change for the greater good. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50, 347-391. doi:10.1177/0013161X13505287
94.
SantamaríaL. J.Jean-MarieG. (2014). Cross-cultural dimensions of applied, critical, and transformational leadership: Women principals advancing social justice and educational equity. Cambridge Journal of Education, 44(3), 333-360. doi:10.1080/0305764X.2014.904276
95.
ScorzaD.MirraN.MorrellE. (2013). It should just be education: Critical pedagogy normalized as academic excellence. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 4(2), 15-34.
96.
ShieldsC. M. (2010). Transformative leadership: Working for equity in diverse contexts. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46, 558-589.
97.
ShirleyD. (1997). Community organizing for urban school reform. Austin: University of Texas Press.
98.
ShirleyD. (2009). Community organizing and educational change: A reconnaissance. Journal of Educational Change, 10, 229-237.
99.
SkrlaL.McKenzieK. B.ScheurichJ. J. (2009). Using equity audits to create equitable and excellent schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
100.
SmythJ. (2006a). Educational leadership that fosters “student voice.”International Journal of Leadership in Education, 9, 279-284.
101.
SmythJ. (2006b). “When students have power”: Student engagement, student voice, and the possibilities for school reform around “dropping out” of school. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 9, 285-298. doi:10.1080/13603120600894232
102.
SpillaneJ. P. (2006). Distributed leadership (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
103.
StovallD. (2006). From hunger strike to high school: Youth development, social justice, and school formation. In GinwrightS. A.NogueraP.CammarotaJ. (Eds.), Beyond Resistance! Youth activism and community change: New democratic possibilities for practice and policy for America’s youth (pp. 97-110). New York, NY: Routledge.
104.
TheoharisG. (2007). Social justice educational leaders and resistance: Toward a theory of social justice leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43, 221-258. doi:10.1177/0013161x06293717
105.
TheoharisG. (2008). Woven in deeply: Identity and leadership of urban social justice principals. Education and Urban Society, 41, 3-25.
106.
TheoharisG. (2009). The school leaders our children deserve: Seven keys to equity, social justice, and school reform. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
107.
TheoharisG.O’TooleJ. (2011). Leading inclusive ELL: Social justice leadership for English language learners. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47, 646-688.
108.
TorreM. E. (2009). Participatory action research and critical race theory: Fueling spaces for nos-otras to research. The Urban Review, 41, 106-120.
109.
TuckE.GuishardM. (2013). Uncollapsing ethics: Racialized sciencism, settler coloniality, and an ethical framework of decolonial participatory action research. In KressT. M.MalottC. S.PorfilioB. J. (Eds.), Challenging status quo retrenchment: New directions in critical qualitative research (pp. 3-27). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
110.
ValdésG. (1996). Con respeto: Bridging the distance between culturally diverse families and schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
111.
VélezV. N. (2016). Organizing for change: Latinx im/migrant parents, school decision-making, and the racial politics of parent leadership in school reform. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, 10, 108-128.
112.
WarrenM. (2010). Building a political constituency for urban school reform. Urban Education, 46, 484-512.
113.
WeltonA. D.BrockB.PerryM. (2014). Building a youth leadership fortress: High school women of color as visible activists. In NewcombW. S.MansfieldK. C. (Eds.), Women interrupting, disrupting, and revolutionizing educational policy and practice (pp. 79-98). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
114.
WeltonA. D.HarrisT. O.La LondeP. G.MoyerR. T. (2015). Social justice education in a diverse classroom: Examining high school discussions about race, power, and privilege. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48, 549-570.
115.
YossoT. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8, 69-91.
116.
YoungM.LaibleJ. (2000). White racism, anti-racism, and school leadership preparation. Journal of School Leadership, 10, 374-415.
