In today’s Western schools, white, straight, middle-class, and physically able students reach higher achievements and drop out less. They have a greater chance of learning in higher education institutions than their counterparts who do not possess these characteristics (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Sweet, Anisef, Brown, Walters, & Phythian, 2010).

While many agree that theory, research, and practice should be intertwined to support the type of schooling (and society) that values rather than marginalizes, few scholars offer groundbreaking, pragmatic approaches to developing truly transformative leaders. From a critical theorist perspective, this book offers a practical, process-oriented model that is responsive to the challenges of preparing...

Section I

Despite conflicting views of social justice, of the sources of injustice in schools and society, and of educators’ obligations to committed action, the evidence is clear and alarming that various segments of our public school population experience negative and inequitable treatment on a daily basis (Ladson-Billings, 1994; Scheurich & Laible, 1999; Valenzuela, 1999). When compared to...

Transformative learning is a process of experiential learning, critical self-reflection, and rationale discourse that can be stimulated by people, events, or changes in context, which challenge the learner’s basic assumptions of the world. Transformative learning leads to a new way of seeing. “Values are not necessarily changed, but are examined—their source is identified, and...

This chapter was written for the second edition of this book, and it reviews the literature about “Part I: Transformative Ideas and the Contextual Background,” which was published during the years following the publication of the first edition. Initially presenting findings regarding school leaders’ great influence on student learning, this chapter examines how school leaders can...

Section II

“Once a mind is expanded by a better idea it can never return to its original form”
—(Oliver Wendell Holmes).
Developing as a critically reflective administrator encompasses both the capacity for critical inquiry and self-reflection (Larrivee, 2000; Schon, 1987). Critical inquiry involves the conscious consideration of the moral and ethical...

Rational discourse involves a commitment to extended and repeated conversations that evolve over time into a culture of careful listening and cautious openness to new perspectives, not shared understanding in the sense of consensus, but rather deeper and richer understandings of our own biases as well as where our colleagues are coming from on particular issues and how each of us differently...

Praxis is a Greek word that means moving back and forth in a critical way between reflecting and acting on the world. Because reflection alone does not produce change, Freire (1970) advocated for the necessity of action based on reflection. Policy praxis involves inductive and deductive forms of reasoning. It also involves dialogue as social process with the objective of “dismantling...

Throughout the three chapters in “Section II: Transformative Andragogical Practice and the Centrality of Experience,” the three theoretical perspectives of adult learning theory, transformative learning theory, and critical social theory are interwoven with the three andragogical strategies of critical reflection, rational discourse, and policy praxis to increase future and current...

In the forward of Capper’s Educational Administration in a Pluralistic Society, Sleeter (1993) draws on Giroux’s (1983) description of the type of administrator she would like to see advocating for equality and social justice in schools: “These are transformative intellectuals who are both active, reflective scholars and practitioners,” who “engage in political...

Dr. Kathleen M. Brown has been a Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the past 19 years. Prior to joining the professorate, she served as a teacher and as an elementary and middle school principal in the Philadelphia/Camden, New Jersey area for more than 12 years. She has served in a number of leadership capacities in the...