This course will examine various leadership approaches in K-12 schools with a view to informing educational leadership theory and practice. Schools operate in diverse contexts and as such school leaders must be prepared to engage with the diversity presented in schools and school communities. The course will examine, among other things, the connections between school leadership practices, theories, student engagement, and student achievement. Possibilities, challenges, and tensions of various school leadership frameworks such as culturally responsive, transformative, social justice leadership, decolonizing leadership, among others will be explored.

This course takes a broad view of school leadership and asserts that everyone in a school can lead, and leadership is about choosing decisions and actions that support all students to thrive. This course will be of value to students seeking to deepen their understanding of school leadership theorizing and practice in diverse contexts, and develop skills and knowledge needed to effectively lead schools.