Metaphors of leadership and spatialized practice

Abstract

In our nation’s schools, there is an ‘othered’ nature of space—the fact that spaces are not discourse-neutral and serve to entrap individuals in certain representations, roles, contracts, hierarchies and other hegemonic processes. This paper focuses on research on the use of photo-elicitation, critical geography and metaphor as tools of representation, analysis and reflection of problems of practice and spatialized practices in schools. Participants were students in a graduate educational leadership courses. Preliminary analysis has given insights into how students in leadership preparation programmes begin to develop their identities as future educational leaders and how they interpret problems of schooling. Providing students with the opportunity to critically examine how spaces in and around schools convey messages about taken-for-granted leadership practices and expectations for the role empowers them. Pre-service leaders can develop their own identities and become leaders engaged in creating more socially just schools that serve the needs of all students.

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Erratum

Notes

This article was originally published with errors. This version has been corrected. Please see Erratum (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2014.907650).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Noelle Witherspoon Arnold

Noelle Witherspoon Arnold is an associate professor in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia, 301 Hill Hall, Columbia, MO 65211 USA. Email: [email protected]. Her research agenda includes leadership preparation, spirituality/religion and leadership; and gender and race issues in educational leadership.

Emily R. Crawford

Emily R. Crawford is an assistant professor in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, the University of Missouri-Columbia, 207B Hill Hall, Columbia, MO 65211 USA. Email: [email protected]. Her research interests include the ethics of educational leadership, education policy and paths to educational equity for undocumented students.