Breakout Session 7 - 14th May at 2:45 - 3:30

Navigating the Leadership Terrain: Critical Educational Leadership Praxis Towards Transformative Change

Abstract

This presentation examines how school leaders in the Greater Toronto Area, (GTA) Canada navigate their contexts and engage in critical leadership praxis that addresses the increasing diversity in schools. The paper examines how school leaders respond to increasing diversity in their schools, and their efforts at centring justice within their leadership praxis. Diversity among the Canadian population has increased in recent decades, with Ontario regarded as the most ethnically diverse province in the country. In 2021, 30% of Ontario’s population was foreign born, and the GTA welcomed 30% of all newcomers to Canada between 2016 and 2021 (Focus on Geography Series, Statistics Canada, 2021). 

This presentation draws on qualitative narrative inquiry research conducted with school leaders (principals and vice principals) in the GTA, undergirded by social justice leadership framework (Bogotch, 2002; Theoharis, 2007) and decolonizing educational leadership (Lopez, 2020). Insights from the study revealed that while there are challenges navigating the ever changing and fluid contextual landscapes of urban schools a) principals are committed to the cause of justice; and b) stay the course of critical leadership praxis by employing various strategies. This presentation will examine the strategies employed by the participants to stay the course of critical leadership praxis.

Biography