TY - JOUR
T1 - Distributed Leadership and Social Justice
T2 - Images and meanings from different positions across the school landscape
AU - Woods, Philip
AU - Roberts, Amanda
N1 - This is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article accepted for publication in International Journal of Leadership in Education following peer review. The version of record, Philip Woods, ‘Distributed leadership and social justice: images and meanings from across the school landscape’, International Journal of Leadership in Education, Vol 19(2): 138-156, first published online 1 June 2015, is available online via doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2015.1034185
Published by Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2016/3/14
Y1 - 2016/3/14
N2 - This paper reports data from a study investigating distributed leadership (DL) and its relationship to social justice and democratic values. The research comprised a case study of a UK secondary school, which describes itself as having a finely distributed leadership culture, and involved teaching staff, non-teaching staff, senior leaders and students who took part in an arts-based method of data generation (collage creation) and interviews. The study examined participants’ meanings and perceptions in relation to leadership and social justice. Our analysis of the data highlights contrasting image patterns (hierarchical and holarchic); a dominant view of DL as the exercise of pro-active agency, but also awareness of ways in which this is unequally spread across the school; and the value of seeing DL as comprising multiple features each of which may be distributed differently. This paper concentrates on participative and cultural justice. It suggests that work on further delineating multiple aspects of DL would be valuable, and that attention needs to be given not only to developing flexibility of institutional structures, but also core cultural values (social justice and democracy) and holarchic social environments in which relationships are fluid, supportive and encourage belonging and independent thinking.
AB - This paper reports data from a study investigating distributed leadership (DL) and its relationship to social justice and democratic values. The research comprised a case study of a UK secondary school, which describes itself as having a finely distributed leadership culture, and involved teaching staff, non-teaching staff, senior leaders and students who took part in an arts-based method of data generation (collage creation) and interviews. The study examined participants’ meanings and perceptions in relation to leadership and social justice. Our analysis of the data highlights contrasting image patterns (hierarchical and holarchic); a dominant view of DL as the exercise of pro-active agency, but also awareness of ways in which this is unequally spread across the school; and the value of seeing DL as comprising multiple features each of which may be distributed differently. This paper concentrates on participative and cultural justice. It suggests that work on further delineating multiple aspects of DL would be valuable, and that attention needs to be given not only to developing flexibility of institutional structures, but also core cultural values (social justice and democracy) and holarchic social environments in which relationships are fluid, supportive and encourage belonging and independent thinking.
KW - democracy and education
KW - educational administration
KW - organisational culture
KW - equity
KW - policy
KW - leadership theory and development
U2 - 10.1080/13603124.2015.1034185
DO - 10.1080/13603124.2015.1034185
M3 - Article
SN - 1360-3124
VL - 19
SP - 138
EP - 155
JO - International Journal of Leadership in Education
JF - International Journal of Leadership in Education
IS - 2
ER -