Social justice educational leadership

Social justice educational leadership emphasizes the belief that all students can and will reach proficiency, without exceptions or excuses, and that schools ought to be organized to advance the equitable learning of all students. Rather than focusing on one group of students who traditionally struggle, or who traditionally succeed, social justice leaders address the learning needs of all students. Social justice educational leadership specifically addresses how differences in race, income, language, ability, gender, and sexual orientation influence the design and effectiveness of learning environments. Social justice leadership draws from inclusive education practices from disability education, but extends the concepts further to support students from diverse groups with a wide range of needs. Through restructuring staff allocation and assessing student progress through disaggregated data, school leaders strive to create schools with equal access and equitable support for all students.

Social justice educational leaders recognize the role race, ethnicity, family income, ability, gender, and sexual orientation play in predicting student success in school. They commit to creating schools that address societal inequalities by striving to help all students reach academic proficiency. As described by Scheurich and Skrla, "In striving for both equity and excellence... we are aiming for schools in which there are no persistent patterns of differences in academic success or treatment among students grouped by race, ethnicity, culture, neighborhood, income of parents, or home language. In other words, we are aiming to foster schools that literally serve each and every student really well." (pg. 2).

In order to assess whether these patterns of difference exist, social justice leaders use data tools, such as equity audits, to uncover structures that create differences in student learning outcomes. Equity audits use data such as standardized test scores, discipline rates, family involvement in schools, advanced course participation, special education labeling, at-risk identification, and intervention placement to create profiles of achievement for different student groups in the school. Equity audits reveal achievement gap trends in these areas, in which traditionally marginalized students frequently perform at lower levels than their more privileged peers. Many schools find demographically similar groups of students struggling in academics, language, discipline, graduation rates, and other markers of student success. Once these patterns are identified, social justice leaders equip staff and students with the skills necessary to address discrepancies in student learning needs.

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