Critical Leadership
Purpose¶
In the vein of critical pedagogy, I was curious what lies at the intersection of critical pedagogy and leadership. It seems as if the two were bound to meet, after all, aren’t educators leaders? Plus, it is my thought that dialogue and praxis (reflection and action) both lend themselves to leadership; add in a praxis rooted in critical pedagogy, then social justice would be at the forefront.
My key question¶
How does critical pedagogy extend to leadership?
Jump to Resources, Additional Resources
Search Method¶
Research was initially conducted utilizing a search engine, DuckDuckGo, using the keywords “critical leadership critical pedagogy”. This surprisingly brought up relevant journal articles and a few websites on the first page; these top hits were saved into a notes file for review. Three of the top results originated from the https://eric.ed.gov database. While reviewing the articles found in ERIC, I also searched within the database for “critical leadership”. This surfaced additional journal articles to skim. When following the direct links out of the ERIC database, I also conducted a search within the originating sources search bar using “critical leadership”. What I found is there are many articles on the topic, spanning across regions, disciplines, and organizations. Skimming the articles also highlighted new search terms to further inquiry such as: transformative leadership, critical reflective leadership, and distributed leadership.
Takeaway¶
Taking a step back and critically examining leadership was energizing and empowering, finding that it is essential to question the characteristics, attributes, abilities, roles, and structures that are traditionally called leadership. Collinson (2011) pulled back the curtain and questioned many of these.
Moving through the resources, I found that critical leadership is multifaceted and may take many forms; such as, applied critical leadership, critical reflective leadership, culturally responsive leadership. They all have a common link; they are each transformative leadership based in critical pedagogy.
Resources¶
Aho, R. E., & Quaye, S. J. (2018). Applied critical leadership: Centering racial justice and decolonization in professional associations. Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs, 3(3), 8–19. https://ecommons.luc.edu/jcshesa/vol3/iss3/2/
Annotation
This article takes a hard-stance, stating that the U.S. higher education system embodies imperialistic tendencies which are perpetuating the harmful effects of colonization rooted in racism. As a resolution, the authors outline and discuss the application of critical leadership at the professional organization level through the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). It is the view of the authors that professional associations have the responsibility and ability to transform spaces, in that they provide direction, guidance, and leadership to the field. They organize the article through three sections: (1) work of the ACPA, (2) theoretical frameworks for applying critical leadership, and (3) future scholarship and practice for those implementing. In the first section, the strategic imperative for the organization is defined and it is explained why it is necessary to not only call for racial justice, but also to call for decolonization. In part two, applied critical leadership is discussed utilizing a theoretical framework presented by Santamaría & Santamaría, incorporating transformational leadership, critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and tribal critical race theory. The closing section points to some critiques, but is a call to action; it reminds the reader that professional associations hold the opportunity to forward this discussion.
Collinson, D. L. (2011). Critical leadership studies. In A. Bryman, D. Collinson, K. Grint, B. Jackson, & M. Uhl-Bien (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Leadership (pp. 179–192). Sage. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280091046_Critical_Leadership_Studies
Annotation
This resource is a chapter from a book titled, “The Sage Handbook of Leadership”. The chapter abstract caught my eye; with the description of organization hierarchy that is all too familiar, in that leaders are above those who they are leading. In other words, those below follow orders and are not in a two-way communication with the leader - in essence anti-critical pedagogy. Furthermore, the chapter counters mainstream thoughts of leadership, listing them as societal qualities held or developed by the leader and examines these critically. Collinson organizes the discussion of leadership into four themes which surfaced through research, (1) essentialism, romanticism, and dualism, (2) control and resistance, (3) dissent and consent, (4) men and women. In each theme, mainstream thought is challenged with critical inquiry raising awareness and questions. The chapter serves as an introduction to critical leadership studies and outlines reasons why leadership needs to be viewed from a more critical point of view, stepping outside of societal constructs.
Critical practices for anti-bias education: tTeacher leadership. (n.d.). Learning for jJustice. https://www.learningforjustice.org/professional-development/critical-practices-for-antibias-education-teacher-leadership
Annotation
Unknown author of lesson plan, from a site formerly named Teaching Tolerance, “Our work has evolved in the last 30 years, from reducing prejudice to tackling systemic injustice. So we’ve chosen a new name that better reflects that evolution: Learning for Justice” (popup). This is an one-hour professional learning unit aimed at developing teacher leadership. Learners will reflect on ways to design a culturally responsive classroom.
Cunningham, C. L. (2012). Critically reflective leadership. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(4). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2012v37n4.5
Annotation
Written through a human (natural) narrative, Cunningham tells the story of her principalship and doctoral studies utilizing Critical Reflective Practices (CRP) which transformed to Critical Reflective Leadership (CRL). In the intro, Cunningham did not shy away about why she was hired to fill the vacancy in a South American elite high school; in reflection she reasoned, being Australian, white, and speaking English as her first language, as a first-language all added to being short-listed for the position, on par with other hires. This opens the door to critically look at the world, building an understanding of the social and political context of the school, while striving to hold on to her social justice ideals. Cunningham walks through the CRP handbook she selected — Smyth, J., and McInerney, P. et al., (eds) (1999). Critical Reflection on Teaching and Learning. Investigation Series/Teachers' Learning Project — and then details the why and how it was modified to accommodate the change in position, from teacher to principal. This followed the CRP four step process: (1) describing, (2) informing, (3) confronting, and (4) reconstructing. Cunningham’s modifications largely had to do with time, both hours in a day and time passing for meaningful reflection in a complex leadership position. As she explains each of the modifications, the reader gains insight to injustices Cunningham became aware of, and addresses through modifying CRP to CRL. In the conclusion, Cunningham stated that this practice was invaluable in high-stakes decision making, but it also came with conflict and critique. Afterall, Cunnigham was ultimately documenting and challenging school governance practices.
Santamaría, L. J., & Santamaría, A. P. (2015). Counteracting educational injustice with applied critical leadership: Culturally responsive practices promoting sustainable change. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 17(1), 22–41. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v17i1.1013
Annotation
This article is contributing to the research extending leadership for diversity, social justice, and equity. Santamaría & Santamaría offer a divergent view from the often binary and compartmentalized ways in which academic research is traditionally presented. The stated purpose originates from observations of emergent new ways of leading, and they seek to make these leadership practices seen. The article is organized into three sections; (1) relevant literature, (2) comparative case studies, and (3) comparative findings. The case studies include 20 educational leaders, with localities in both the United States and New Zealand who all identify as people of color. These locations were observed to promote social justice and have potential to affect the global educational landscape.
The discussion of educational leadership is framed as distinctly separate from management, and the authors are posing educational leadership as crucial to global human development; diversity is an opportunity for education. Santamaría & Santamaría define Applied Critical Leadership (ACL) as harnessing both professional and embodied lived experiences with theoretical foundations in transformative leadership, critical pedagogy, and critical race theory. These theoretical underpinnings serve to expose underlying assumptions concealing inequitable power relations and practices.
In an example of missed opportunity, Māori (an indiginous peoples of New Zealand) leadership roles are juxtaposed with ACL characteristics of leadership as evidence that voices may have been absent from educational decision making. These leadership characteristics are further discussed through combined case study narratives, combined to secure the anonymity of those participating. Concluding, the need to embrace intersectionality in leadership practices is an observed necessity.
Wink, J., Kyles, C., & L. G., P. (2003, February 14). Vygotsky and Freire: Linked through the transformative power of language. JoanWink. https://www.joanwink.com/scheditems/cabe2003.pdf
Annotation
Joan Wink et al. combine two modes of thought to form something new. This is a simple PDF distributed as part of a professional learning session, but the simplicity allows for creativity and imagination to fill in the blanks.
Additional Resources¶
Fitzpatrick, K., & Santamaría, L. J. (2015). Disrupting racialization: considering critical leadership in the field of physical education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 20(5), 532–546. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2014.990372
Overview
Critical pedagogy and physical education are the topic of this article. It is the view of the authors that traditionally, physical education has embedded norms that serve white, masculine, heterosexual, and able-bodied learners. It is concluded that educators have a responsibility to take a transformational leadership approach to break these norms.
Jenkins, D. M., & Cutchens, A. B. (2011). Leading critically. Journal of Leadership Education, 10(2), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.12806/v10/i2/tf1
Jones, S. (2014). Distributed leadership: A critical analysis. Leadership, 10(2), 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715011433525
Keyl, S. (2021). Subaltern praxis: A Vygotskian and Freirean framework in NGO education. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 23(2), 173–188. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v23i2.2711
Overview
Working to empower women in Tehran, Keyl noted western style education efforts were not effective. However, Keyl observed that other local nonprofits were having greater success in their educational endeavors, creating lasting societal transformations. This study inquires about why, and how western educational styles need to be transformed to reach diverse audiences, with insights gained from non-western practices.
Shah, S. R. (2014). Empowering EFL teachers through distributed leadership: A critical perspective on leadership practices in an educational institution. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(10), 9–25. http://ijbssnet.com/journal/index/2851>
Overview
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators are the center of this article, finding that leadership does not promote educational spaces that support the diverse learner base present in EFL classrooms. Educators have knowledge and ideas that leadership needs to consider when enforcing policies, therefore distributed leadership is examined and is viewed as a way for leaders and educators to work together, with learners, to meet outcomes that all desire.
Tapio, J. L., Raisa, S. A., & Niina, L. (2019). Finnish principals: Leadership training and views on distributed leadership. Educational Research and Reviews, 14(10), 340–348. https://doi.org/10.5897/err2018.3637
Overview
A study conducted in Finland to examine points of view on distributed leadership. They surveyed principals and educators through a variety of questions, both likert scales and open ended. The results revealed that the two groups may have divergent views on what distributed leadership entails.
Van Hook, S. R. (2008, June 15). Theories of intelligence, learning, and motivation as a basic educational praxis. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=Praxis+Freire+Vygotsky&id=ED501698