Leveraging Co-Teaching as a Social Justice Pedagogy: What School Leaders Need to Know

School Reform: The District Policy Implications of the Effective Schools Literature

Event Abstract Back to Event Emotional Intelligence, Educational Improvement, and Professional Development Pathways: The Case of Abu Dhabi School Leaders Rida Blaik Hourani1*, David Litz1 and Scott Parkman1 1 Emirates College for Advanced Education, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi is undergoing educational changes that necessitate improving and developing public school leaders’ skills within the realm of transformational leadership. Abu Dhabi school leaders are anticipated to perform within specific professional standards that encompass: leading the community, leading the people and leading the organization. These professional standards embed emotional intelligence attributes (Blaik Hourani & Stringer 2015). According to Wood and Kroese (2007), Arar (2017), and Cliffe (2011), in order to improve schools, leaders need to demonstrate various dimensions of emotional intelligence (EI). Grootenboer and Hardy (2017) discuss the praxis of school leadership through highlighting the forms of emotional intelligence. These forms revolve around: a) semantic space characterized by the construct of a shared and mutual understanding of the organizational operations and needs and b) social space featured by building social relationships and networking among school stakeholders. The latter form takes into account the praxis of school leaders from the circumstances and exigencies angles , so as to resolve conflicts, destress staff and address school problems encountered. Grootenboer and Hardy (2017) discuss that demonstrating social space is centered on values pertaining to, social justice, empathy, respect, inclusion and cooperation and these values are nurtured. As indicated by Benson, Fearon, McLaughlin and Garratt (2014) and Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee, (2002) EI is a key attribute for innovative and effective school leadership. The above authors concur, that developing emotional school leaders’ traits contributes to successful school. EI attributes is considered important for transformational leadership and for managing organizations during educational reforms and changes. Benson, Fearon, McLaughlin and Garratt (2014), add that emotional intelligence is a complementary resource for creating competent school leaders and developing resilient school communities. Wong, Wong and Peng (2010) in a study conducted in Hong Kong they indicate that EI is essential is positively related to the middle-level school leaders’ performance and job success and satisfaction. Moreover Wong, Wong and Peng (2010), Goleman (2006a) and Bush (2011) have evidenced middle-level school leaders’ job improvement and professional performance that consequently leads to improved schools. Cliffe (2011) in a study conducted on school administrators indicated that school administrators with high EI demonstrated professional skills relevant to: self-awareness, emotional self-management, motivating oneself and others, recognizing emotions of others and handling intra-personal relationships ; this has shaped their professional performance as school administrators and therefore being over attuned to one’s own emotions can contribute to improved school leadership. Oplatka (2011) discusses that, often school leaders act as the only people in charge for motivating the teachers and staff and this involves the expression and demonstration of different emotions. Oplatka (2011) adds that school leaders constitute the focal point of professional emotions. Therefore, it becomes important for school leaders to be aware of this dimension (emotional) when performing their roles, especially that the emotional dimension heavily concentrates on how to deal with and influence others. Blackmore (2004) argue that an effective school that is moving towards progress requires the appearance and expression of emotions in organizational interactions. This study attempts to explore Abu Dhabi public school leaders’ emotional intelligence within Goleman’s (2006; 2007) five dimensions. This includes: a) self-awareness, b) managing emotions, c) motivating oneself, d) empathy, and e) social skills. This study is conceptualized within Van der Vyver et al. (2014) intertwined notions of ‘inherent value’, Goleman’s (2007) emotional intelligence dimensions and professional performance standards for Abu Dhabi school leaders. Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual framework of this study. Insert Figure 1: This research project addresses the following questions: 1. What emotional intelligence do school leaders exhibit along the following five dimensions: a) self-awareness, b) managing emotions, c) motivating oneself, d) empathy, and e) social skills? 2. How do school leaders utilize their emotional intelligence attributes professionally speaking? 3. What emotional intelligence dimensions are in alignment with leading the community, people and leading the organization as professional performance standards? 4. Are there any challenges situated within the emotional intelligence dimensions that school leaders face; that pertain to their professional responsibilities regarding leading the people and leading the organization and leading the community? 5. What emotional intelligence attributes and dimensions pertain to transformational leadership? Research question one was addressed through the quantitative research tool; whereas the research questions two, three, four and five were addressed through the qualitative research tool. This research employs mixed methods’ tools. The study included a random sample that consists of 30% of all Abu Dhabi government schools. The random sampling included cycle 1, 2 and 3 schools. Cycle 1 includes grades (1-4), cycle 2 includes grades (5-8) ad cycle 3 includes grades (9-12). Due to time constraints, Common Schools, Kindergartens and schools in Western region were excluded from this study. The school leaders that took part in this research included: Principals (PR), Vice Principals (VP), Academic Vice Principals(AVP), Head of Faculty-Arabic (HOFA), Head of Faculty-English (HOFE), Lead Principals(LP)and Social Workers(SW). The total number of research participants were 124 and they were involved in the quantitative component of this research and 30 research participants who took part in the quantitative data collection were interviewed. The following convey the quantitative findings: As the correlation matrix indicates there were some significant correlations between emotional intelligence characteristics. The strongest correlations were observed between Empathy and Social skills, with correlation coefficient of 0.756 and between Self-Awareness and Empathy with a correlation coefficient of 0.771. The weakest correlation was found between Self-Awareness and Managing Emotions, with a correlation coefficient of just 0.531. Table 2: Mean Emotional Intelligence Scores by Population The mean scores of all participants in each of the five characteristics of emotional intelligence were indicated and tracked through the quantitative research tool. There were differences in mean score values for specific sub-populations based on Nationality, Education level, Gender and Position. Managing Emotions has the lowest mean score both within the total population and within each subgroup, while Self Awareness has the highest rated characteristic across all groupings. None of the differences in mean scores across the five characteristics was found to be significant. Surprisingly, differences in characteristics were demonstrated to be least significant along gender lines than any other criteria. Insert Table 2 Table 3: Analysis of Variance The analysis of variance indicated that the items on the survey for emotional intelligence was, on the whole, a reliable instrument with the population of this study. Alpha Cronbach scores greater than 0.700 are considered sufficiently reliable. This indicates that there was strong independence between the individual items in the survey sufficient variance in the answers provided by the participants. Insert Table 3 Findings that came out of the qualitative research tools captured the following emerging themes: Emotional intelligence dimensions that portray educational leaders, Emotional intelligence attributes pertaining to the school leaders’ reflective practices, Emotional intelligence and areas needing professional development and nurturing, Emotional intelligence dimensions and school leaders’ transformational skills; Emotional intelligence and attributes that underpin leading the community, leading the people and leading the organization. Insert Table 1: Correlation Matrix Figure 1 Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 References

ABSTRACTTo effectively teach reading to students with and at risk for disabilities, special and general education teachers depend on principals who support effective specialized reading instruction. Yet, extant research indicates that principals have inadequate preparation for supporting specialized instruction. To address this issue, scholars have recommended that leader preparation programs should provide prospective leaders with more preparation in special education. However, research to date provides limited indications of whether more preparation would in fact support more effective leadership for special education. Therefore, we examined data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to determine whether principals’ qualifications in special education and in reading predicted struggling readers’ and students with disabilities’ reading achievement growth in kindergarten. We found no effects; principals’ coursework in special education, coursework in reading, prior experiences as a special education teacher, and experience in school leadership did not predict reading achievement growth among students with or at-risk for disabilities.

This study explored how school leaders in Arab schools in Israel enact transformative leadership to promote student social mobility and social justice. In the context of persistent structural inequalities and educational disparities, the study sought to illuminate leadership practices that go beyond technical management and embrace a broader vision of social justice. Employing a qualitative research design, the study was based on 60 semi-structured interviews with principals and other school staff in Arab schools in Israel, as well as observations. A thematic analysis revealed four main dimensions of transformative leadership: promoting academic achievement; emphasizing emotional and social well-being; empowering students and encouraging leadership; and developing students’ skills and abilities. These practices reflect a strong alignment with Shields’s model of transformative leadership, which emphasizes equity, inclusion, and critical social change. The findings suggest that school leaders in the Arab minority in Israel view their role not only as educators but also as social agents working to mitigate marginalization and provide students with meaningful opportunities for advancement. Transformative leadership in these schools is deeply rooted in a commitment to social justice and equity and offers valuable insights for educational policy and leadership training programs.

This paper investigates the proficiency of special education (SE) teachers and the challenges they face in educating children with intellectual disabilities (CIDs), as reported by primary school teachers in Afghanistan. This study utilized a qualitative narrative research approach. A total of five special education (SE) teachers who teach children with intellectual disabilities (CIDs) from different primary schools in Kabul, Afghanistan participated in this study. The schools where the special education (SE) teachers work were under the management of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The five teachers were interviewed in the Afghan language, Dari, as well as English, based on the participants' choices, and subsequently transcribed and translated accordingly. The data was analysed using thematic analysis and resulted in the identification of three main themes: the competencies of teachers in fieldwork; pedagogical and professional knowledge; and the behavioural issues of children with intellectual disabilities (CIDs) as well as the difficulties encountered by special education (SE) teachers. They have indicated their requirement for professional development programs and modern instructional tools, both of which are considered necessary skills for instructors working in the field of special education. Ultimately, the results of this study suggest that special education (SE) teachers should possess extensive knowledge in their specific areas of expertise and consistently strive to improve their professional expertise and level of teaching proficiency. This can be achieved by enhancing their knowledge, engaging in specialized training programs for the field of special education, and actively seeking further information on the instructional skills required to support students with cognitive impairments who require individualized educational planning.

Purpose: School leaders become arbiters of educational opportunity by shaping how policies are implemented within their buildings. Yet the role that school leaders play in enacting policies designed to expand equity for historically marginalized groups of students such as English learners (ELs) has received little attention in the research literature. This study examines the role that school leaders play in enabling or obstructing social justice by examining how leaders implement one policy, that which dictates the process of exiting students from EL status and reclassifying them as English proficient. Research Method: We conducted qualitative case studies of eight elementary schools across four districts in Texas, each of which included an observation of the year-end meetings when committees review EL students’ files and make reclassification decisions, as well as a semistructured focus group interview. Findings: School leaders both enable and obstruct practices that reflect social justice leadership while implementing reclassification policy, but lack awareness that they are doing so. Policy understanding and approach to implementation mediated the ways in which school leaders were able to leverage policy implementation to enable social justice and promote equity. Implications: We draw upon research findings to provide a framework for helping school leaders leverage policy implementation to enact social justice in their schools.

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to examine what is known as well as what we still seek to know in terms of principals’ potential contribution to social justice in their schools. Design/methodology/approach: This review provides an evaluative report of the current knowledge in the literature related to the influence of principals on social justice at the school building level. Findings: The current review reveals that there is solid evidence of the significant impact of school leaders on student learning. This impact constitutes the conceptual basis for social justice school leadership, where school leaders ascertain that all students are provided equal opportunities for quality education. However, the available knowledge regarding the optimal way to prepare social justice school leaders is still limited. Research implications: In as much as recent literature does not provide satisfactory answers to the question of how to train social justice school leaders, workable approaches to developing leaders who are effective in achieving social justice, equity, and excellence should be explored. Originality/value: In today’s Western school systems, non-White, LGBT, poor, or differently-abled students often lag behind their peers in academic achievement and acquisition of higher education while leading in school dropout rates. The review seeks to understand how school principals can bring about a real change in this undesirable situation, creating a social justice educational system.

In this empirical paper, the researchers determine the challenges experienced by township secondary school principals in the Western Cape, in implementing instructional leadership. The background to this paper is that there are challenges in the implementation of instructional leadership in township secondary schools which leads to learners performing poorly in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam. The study is couched in the theoretical framework of Critical Emancipatory Research which advocates peace, hope, equality, freedom, and social justice. A transformative paradigm under the qualitative approach and participatory action research design was adopted to analyse the experiences of the stakeholders of the research school. A focus group discussion was conducted with the school management team (SMT) of a particular secondary school in the Metro East Education district in the Western Cape. This SMT comprised eight members, including the school principal. The findings revealed that ineffective communication and a lack of clear goals are the primary causes of challenges to the effective implementation of instructional leadership. Contrary to this, effective communication and formulation of clear goals can alleviate the challenges experienced in instructional leadership. Considering the findings, the study argues that effective communication, and a formulation of clear goals, are a prerequisite for the implementation of effective instructional leadership in schools. This study contributes to the body of research on the challenges of implementing effective instructional leadership from the township context in the Western Cape province in South Africa. Keywords: instructional leadership, critical emancipatory research, participatory action research, learner achievement, teamwork.

Social justice has become an increasingly debated concept in the political, economic, social and legal spheres of the global order. Social justice in education is as much about improving social rights and instilling hope for renewal in society by providing a quality education system as it is about strengthening political influence and financial status. Social justice in education reduces differences by making the educational environment more socialized, preparing students for better coexistence. In order to implement social justice in schools, school leaders should start by identifying the causes of inequalities in schools and the measures to be taken. Efforts to achieve social justice in schools will be the driving force for these efforts to spread throughout society. Education workers, especially those who manage educational organizations, have a one-to-one responsibility for the social justice indicators in the society they live in. Social justice is a manageable process. School administrators can also develop strategies to manage social justice in their schools. In this section, which aims to address the concept of social justice with its theoretical and practical dimensions in educational organizations, what social justice means for school administrators and teachers, what social justice practices and efforts in schools can be, what the social justice roles of actors in schools can be, the problems in achieving social justice, what the basic characteristics of school administrators who advocate social justice are, the ways and results of achieving social justice in schools are discussed.

Tbere has long been concern in special education about the shortage of teachers who are fully certified in their main teaching assignment. Based on a national probability sample of 46,599 public school teachers, this research provides data on the certification status of both special and general education teacbers. Findings are presented for four types of teachers who enter the teaching force each year, and for two types of teachers who continue in public schools from the prior year. Results showed a chronic annual shortage of about 29, 000 fully certified teachers in special education (9.8%), a level that was almost twice the number in general education (5.59%). The shortage of fully certified teachers in special education was attributable mostly to entering teachers (32% not fully certified) and to continuing teachers who had not become established in their teaching positions (14% not fully certified). These percentages were higher than observed in general education, a finding partly due to the higher rate of turnover of teachers in special education. Implications for teacher education, professional development, and retention are discussed.

This research aims to examine the relationship between school leadership, social motivation and social justice based on perceptions of the teachers at public schools and to reveal whether the perceived social motivation of the teachers have a mediating role in this relationship. 1222 teachers at public schools in Pendik district of Istanbul province in 2022-2023 academic year who were selected using the stratified sampling method based on the number of teachers per school grades participated in the study. In this quantitative study, School Leadership Scale for measuring teachers’ perceptions regarding school principals’ leadership behaviors, Social Motivation Scale for measuring participants’ perceptions regarding social motivation, and Social Justice Scale for measuring participants’ perceptions regarding social justice were used. Pearson correlation analysis, Independent sample t-test and structural equation model were used for descriptive analyses. Finally, whether the direct and indirect effects obtained in the structural equation model are significant was examined by bootstrapping analysis. The results of the research showed significant relationships between teachers’ perceptions of school leadership, social motivation, social justice besides social motivation’s mediating role on the relationship between school leadership and social justice. Finally, the findings obtained in the research were discussed in line with the relevant literature and suggestions were presented.

Teachers' Sense of Efficacy: An Important Factor in School Improvement

Beliefs about achievement impact the educational experiences of students. The mainstream ideology of achievement espouses that anyone can be successful as long as they put forth effort and work hard. This belief fails to account for systemic barriers that have limited historically marginalized groups of people from achieving. Research has focused on the beliefs of teachers with scant research done on the beliefs of school leaders. This study focused on what school leaders believe about achievement and how it impacts their daily practice. In addition, the ideologies of the school leaders were compared and contrasted with an ideology rooted in social justice. The goal of this study was to gain insight into what school leaders believe about achievement and add to the literature about achievement ideologies and school leaders. This study utilized a qualitative method rooted in grounded theory. The triangulated protocol used interviews and questionnaires to guide the data collection process. Participants’ beliefs about achievement, challenges to achievement, their impact on achievement, and how these beliefs impact their daily practice were revealed. The shared experiences of secondary urban school leaders provided insight into what school leaders believe about achievement, how they do and do not operate with an ideology rooted in social justice, and how these beliefs guide their praxis.

Globally, schools continue to face ongoing reductions in budgetary allocations, increase in student numbers, performativity pressures and high stake accountability. Like it or not, schools/ school leaders are operating in rapidly changing national educational policy contexts that are demanding more from less and a much greater contribution to national economic development – leader some commentators and school leaders alike to suggest that schools are being reoriented towards national economic development and less towards social transformation, a fundamental aim of education as set out in the United Nations convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This dichotomy is the site for several tensions occasioned by the approach to educational policy making, and the policy apparatus of national governments, played out in schools, where school leaders are caught between implementing government policy, delivering an education to students that equips them to reap the espoused benefits of education, and keeping staff engaged and motivated. How do school leaders lead for social justice in contexts where educational policy appear out of sync with social justice? How do school leaders lead in contexts where the good of the national ‘community’ appear to supersede the good of local communities and individuals? This paper examines the dichotomy of school leadership, brought about and sustained by national political actions which, although professing a ‘futures’ orientation, appears to be in conflict with quality school leadership and outcomes consistent with social justice.

ABSTRACTThis paper claims a central role for school leaders (principals or head-teachers) in the enactment of social justice policy in schools, who act as key agents or ‘gate keepers’ for what counts as social justice in their contexts of practice. Social justice means different things in different contexts depending on where leaders – who use policy as an opportunity to advance what they think is achievable within the limits of available resources – are positioned in the field and how that defines their stances. Drawing on qualitative data generated through in-depth interviews with ten secondary school principals in two Australian cities, the paper analyses the engagement of school leaders with nationally prescribed equity-related policies. Our analysis shows that, depending on the institutional ethos and resources of schools and their own social justice dispositions, school leaders tend to take different stances towards nationally defined equity agendas. Their responses range from compliance to compromise to contest. The paper suggests that doing social justice in schools can never be unilateral, as policy documents suppose, but is characterised by context-informed policy translation, mediated by a range of interactive forces and interests.