Educational Leadership for Social Justice in Multicultural Contexts: The Case of Melilla, Spain

Abstract

ABSTRACT In multicultural contexts, school principals and educators face unique challenges integrating disadvantaged and immigrant youth. We investigate how these leaders advocate, design and implement social justice pedagogies for inclusion. Drawing on an interdisciplinary literature and in-depth interviews with school principals in Melilla (Spain), we further explore the social justice ideologies and practices of leaders in culturally diverse, minority-majorityschools. The findings reveal that intercultural education and ICT both enhance the inclusion of students and families, transforming schools into more open, democratic, learning environments. However, scarce funding resources, exacerbated by Melilla’s remote location from its Central Ministry of Education and the limited bargaining power of leaders, often truncate social justice initiatives.