The Role of Leadership in Promoting Diversity and Social Justice

This essay explores the critical role of leadership in fostering diversity and social justice within educational institutions. It critically analyzes traditional approaches to educational administration, advocating for adaptation to meet the needs of changing demographics. Drawing upon the works of Foster, Wang, and Saldivia & Anderson, the essay discusses the importance of transformational leadership, social justice, and the need for school principals to act as mediators in combating inequalities and reforming policies. It highlights the significance of inclusion, recognition, and addressing social injustices to improve the overall efficiency of educational institutions and the well-being of the student community. The essay emphasizes that strong leadership skills are essential to remove marginalization based on gender, ethnicity, sex, race, religion, or abilities, ultimately working towards the betterment of the student community and fostering social-justice concerns.

Running Head: EDUCATION 1
leadership and diversity
Author's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction

EDUCATION 2
Diversity is an influential means of motivating social change and progress.
Multiculturalism and diversity, as well as higher learning, is essential for the betterment of the
society. With the population becoming increasingly diverse demographically, it is essential to
address educational and leadership needs. However, it means new strategies employed by
institutional leaders for the benefits of the student community (Mohamad Karkouti, 2016). It
becomes essential to think about general issues associated with diversity and the need for
transformational leadership. Critical theorists such as Foster, Anderson, Wang, and Saldivia have
argued that the traditional practice of educational administration needs to adapt and modify i8n
order to accommodate the needs of the changing demographics within the educational
institutions.
Foster (1986) in his article approaches leadership from a "critical" perspective, and his
approach is not so common. I agree with the author when he criticizes the traditional approaches
take towards the leadership phenomena. He investigates the orthodox views of organizations
towards education and educational leadership. Foster’s approach to leadership is reasonable in
contemporary schools as it adds to the understanding of leadership in the changing the
democratic education. The school leadership must not be limited within a particular position but
extend beyond the schools, in the social and situational contexts. Foster’s approach to leadership
is reasonable in contemporary schools as it meets the needs of modern managerial theory and the
concept of leadership.
The article is by Wang talks about what social justice means and about how principals
perceive it. The author uses Nancy Fraser’s framework for his qualitative research to study how
school principals look at social justice in schools. His article offers an insight into the

EDUCATION 3
philosophies of redistribution, inclusion, recognition, and representation and explains why the
beliefs about social justice vary among the principals.
The final article, by Saldivia and Anderson, links micropolitics, social justice leadership,
and the recent neoliberal reforms. I agree with the authors when they point out the need of the
school principals to take on the role of mediators to combat increasing inequalities and reform
policies in the process.
The principals should widen their thinking about social justice and acknowledge any
social-injustice and join hands to foster social-justice concerns. The objective should be to work
towards the betterment of the student community and improve the efficiency of the educational
institution. Any marginalization of student community because of their gender, ethnicity, sex,
race, religion or abilities can be removed under strong leadership skills (Wang, F. (2016). School
principals play an important role here.
The principals can promote inclusion in their schools through the knowledge of school
micropolitics, which can help them gain a better underhand of policies and their impact. The
alarming progression of social inequality has penetrated the schools, teachers, and principals.
The principals can play a proactive role here by understanding the social and political barriers
before making any improvement efforts (Saldivia. & Anderson, 2016). The school micropolitics
can help to understand why specific reforms do not succeed. Principals should look for the
positive side of school micropolitics to resolve any conflicts and resistance.

EDUCATION 4
References
Foster, W. (1986). Towards a Critical Practice of Leadership. In J. Smyth (Ed.) Critical
Perspectives on Educational Leadership. London: 1(1), 1–247.
Mohamad Karkouti, I. (2016). Professional Leadership Practices and Diversity Issues in the U.S.
Higher Education System: A Research Synthesis. Education, 136(4), 405.
Saldivia, S. & Anderson, G. (2016). Principals Mediating Neoliberal Policies: Micropolitics,
Discourse and Social Justice. In J. Ryan & D. Armstrong (Eds.). Working (With/out) the
System: Educational Leadership, Micropolitics and Social Justice, pp. 23- 44.
Wang, F. (2016). From Redistribution to Recognition: How School Principals Perceive Social
Justice. Leadership and Policy in Schools 15 (3), 323-342.