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The Urban Review

, Volume 46, Issue 4, pp 747–763 | Cite as

The Moral Imperative of Social Justice Leadership: A Critical Component of Effective Practice

  • Rosa L. Rivera-McCutchen
Article
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Abstract

This study examined how four principals in urban middle and senior high schools with a social justice orientation responded to hypothetical scenarios involving teacher prejudice. The principals in this study did not reference their leadership preparation programs in describing the evolution of their equity-focused leadership philosophies, nor did they reference theory. Rather, the principals were predisposed to support the goals of equity and fairness because they believed they had a moral obligation to do so. The research suggests that school leaders who enter the position with a predisposition for equity and fighting injustice may be better equipped to handle scenarios involving prejudice in ways that advance the overall goals of social justice.

Keywords

Social justice leadership Principals Urban schools Moral leadership Effective leadership 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Counseling, Leadership, Literacy and Special Education, Carman Hall B20Lehman College CUNYBronxUSA

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