Content area
Abstract
In education, the social justice movement is a response to the undeniable, egregious, and intolerable inequities that exist in public schools across our nation. Yet the discourse of social justice—what to call it, who to include, what it might look like, and how to go about achieving it—has been described as vague, unsettled, and under-theorized. Existing literature on social justice leadership in education also places primary emphasis on only one construct of social difference, most frequently race or social class, and fails to recognize disability as an important organizing construct. Further, Disability Studies ideas have never been applied directly to school leadership. Given these gaps in the literature, this study addresses three research questions: (1) How do social justice leaders in education conceptualize social justice, and how can Disability Studies theories inform those conceptualizations? (2) How can theories of Disability Studies inform the practices of social justice leaders in education? and (3) How can theories of Disability Studies inform the barriers to and contradictions of social justice leadership in education?
Drawing on Disability Studies perspectives, which are grounded in critical and postmodern theories, this study presents the qualitative case studies of three social justice principals—one each at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The data collected included approximately 13 hours of formal interviews and 130 hours of participant observation as well as informal interviews, and archival data, which were collected over the period of a year and a half and analyzed using the constant comparative method. The cross-case analysis explores social justice leadership conceptualizations, practices, barriers, and contradictions through six Disability Studies oriented themes: (a) disability as an organizing construct, (b) disability and difference as social constructs, (c) including the perspectives of people with disabilities, (d) being critical and cautious of normative practices, (e) challenging the stigma of disability and difference, and (f) substantive inclusion. The findings of this analysis suggest that Disability Studies perspectives are useful in informing social justice leadership with several implications for leadership preparation, practice, and future research.
