Social Justice Leadership in Education: A Suggested Questionnaire

Abstract

This paper reports on the development of the revised Social Justice Questionnaire (SJQ2), an instrument which permits the quantitative examination of socially just school leadership. The SJQ2 is based on data drawn from an exploratory province-wide study to determine to what extent, and how, school principals on Prince Edward Island understand and enact principles of social justice in their work. Although this was a ‘stand-alone’ project, the research also provides a Canadian contribution to the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN). Project design and implementation, including data collection and analysis, took place in 2015–2017. The researchers utilized a mixed methods approach to glean both qualitative and quantitative data for analysis. The research findings indicated that there is a statistically significant correlation between socially just school leadership and the community context. This research supports and enhances current qualitative studies by adding a statistical perspective to show that effective social justice leadership cannot be segregated from the political, economic, and cultural context of the community. Principals in high–need communities develop more context-responsive leadership in the effort of creating a democratic and inclusive educational environment.