The ability to deal with social issues, for instance, racism and equality or discrimination within any institution or administration is a complex issue as depicted in the book “Social Justice Leadership for a Global World” edited by Gerstl-Penin and Aiken(Gerstl-Pepin, & Aiken, 2014). The book covers lots of ideas on the issues of ways that can be used to enable better leaders by changing the education syllabus and engaging students in a different environment that will benefit their reasoning and judgment of diversified cultures.
Chapter 10: Using Documentary Film to Teach Social Justice and Global Awareness in Educational Leadership
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Social justice as defined and illustrated in the book is in the entire world thus students should learn from global perspectives. Documentaries are dynamic and their use in the curriculum would offer a more engaging perception that would enable the students acknowledge and understand the different status of social justice in the world(Gerstl-Pepin, & Aiken, 2014). The use of documentary films is thus important as illustrated in chapter 10 as it enables the students to have a global vision and enlightens them on the different social just and cultural responsibilities of leaders which would inspire students to become better leaders and also learn from the documentaries.
Chapter 11: Transposition Toward Becoming Leading Subjects
Transposition as defined in chapter 11 is based on effectiveness of a teacher to pass knowledge to the students and their ability to understand. The book proposes a method whereby the teacher allows students to reflect on the various topics and experiences. The teacher under this system is the middleman of knowledge and students thus the ability to enable efficient knowledge passes to the students and the students gain the knowledge is what the book terms as transposition(Arar, 2013). The teacher must first reflect on the several issues and subjects that may inhibit knowledge transposition under the role of subject to ensure his/her method works.
Chapter 12: Learning from Failure: Relational Humility and Leadership for Global Realities
The chapter is follows Francois J. Guilleux claims on the importance of students learning from the leaders they aspire to become in the future(Gerstl-Pepin, & Aiken, 2014). The author claims that every leader has made mistakes in the past and only the leaders who are humble enough to accept the mistakes are able to learn from them. The chapter is inspiring and its analysis of how students can reflect on the mistakes of the different leaders they adore or inspire to become, the different ways the leaders portrayed humility to accept their errors and their ability to learn from them is important for the students to gain humility(Arar, 2013). The chapter uses the learning from failure to be from a global perception to ensure that the students learn leadership skills.
Chapter 13: Transformative School Leadership: Deconstructing Self and Agency in a Global World
The section is informative on the issues facing many students and problems based on taking leadership roles. The central question of the chapter is determining the best way to ensure current students will be active leaders in future. The section uses different techniques in understanding the cause of social inequities that may be contributing to the poor leadership skills in most leaders who tend to discriminate their subjects depending on their social class, race, among other social issues(Arar, 2013). The original and informative literature used in the chapter enables better understanding that these social problems that inhibit better judgment and resulted in a bad leadership are based on personal identities, culture, and power.
The author, who believes that schools are powerful entities or agencies to change the unjust world, claims that these inhibiting factors can only be eliminated by the education systems used by learning institutions. By changing the school systems to enable reflection, students will be able to reflect on their personal identities, culture, and power thus enable self-awareness(Gerstl-Pepin, & Aiken, 2014). The ability to know one’s flaws and strengths is important in determining the needed changes that the individual must make to fit in a diversely cultural society. The system will enable the student to learn more about different cultures thus help them become more critical in determining stereotyping and facts.
The issue of power has also been discussed with those in powerful positions are asked to deconstruct themselves away from their dominant positions for them to understand the best way to use their power in transforming the injustices of the world or society(Arar, 2013). The chapter is based on the assumption that without self-reflection that entails personal reflection either of one’s identity or past experiences and viewing the social construction, and exploring power, it is hard for the schools to teach leadership skills. The author calls for schools and other learning institutions administrators to offer space needed for the students to reflect and learn multicultural knowledge that will help create their adult identities(Gerstl-Pepin, & Aiken, 2014).
Chapter 14: Preparing Cultural Competent Instructional Leaders
The section offers a more detailed way of developing a conducive environment for the issues regarding diversity and social justice by developing Educational Leadership Program (ELP). The chapter analyzes different studies that portray the impacts on leadership where the students have studied in ELP. The studies show that there are positive changes in leadership skills based on equitable and socially just environments but the researches have had limitations due to the lack of ways and data that follow up students who studied under ELP to determine whether the former students developed cultural competence.
The ELP tend to support multicultural learning institutions which promote equality and social justice to enable the students to learn from experience on ways to associate with people from different cultures and social class(Gerstl-Pepin, & Aiken, 2014). The setting of the study used by the author is in an impoverished rural society where the whites were more than other races although there have been changes. By partnering with other Local Educational Agencies (LEA’s), ELP has enabled promotion of diversity and social justice which will help in building a better relationship, and understanding of diverse cultures(Gerstl-Pepin, & Aiken, 2014).
Conclusion
According to the chapters, it is evident that leadership is learnt and needs a perfect environment to enable students to learn these skills. It is clear from chapter 13 that self-reflection is important for an individual to determine the various changes that he/she should make to be proud of their identities and use their power in a just manner. The techniques and ability for teachers to transposition knowledge is important and should be enhanced in education system. The chapters also illustrate the necessity of using famous and popular leaders to enable the students to learn from real world issues and need for them to be humble and learn from their mistakes as the leaders they aspire to become do whenever they err. The ELP enables the creation of multicultural learning institutions that help change the education system to a system that will promote self-reflection thus transform the students into competent leaders while promoting diversity and social justice.
References
Arar, K. (2013). Book Review: Global Leadership for Social Justice: Taking it from the Field to PracticeBoskeChristaDiemSarah (eds), Global Leadership for Social Justice: Taking it from the Field to Practice. Bingley: Emerald, 2012, 249 pp., ISBN: 978-1-78052-278-4, $124.95. Educational Management Administration & Leadership , 41 (6), 837-838. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1741143213498997
Gerstl-Pepin, C., & Aiken, J. (2014). Social Justice Leadership for a Global World2014 2 Edited by Cynthia Gersti-Pepin and Judith A. Aiken Social Justice Leadership for a Global World Information Age Publishing 2012 498pp. 978-1-61735-924-8 US$46. Journal Of Educational Administration , 52 (2), 275-279. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jea-09-2013-0104
