Exploring school leadership in coastal schools: ‘getting a fair deal’ for students in disadvantaged communities

ABSTRACT

This paper is a response to an earlier article in the Journal of Education Policy, which calls for ‘new ideas and constructive principles and practices for the provision of socially-just education’. We first discuss how an economistic approach to education entrenches socioeconomic disadvantage and argue that, in the light of evidence that inequalities are increasing both nationally and internationally, it has become increasingly important that we understand models of social justice in schools in deprived locations. Reporting on original longitudinal research with schools in disadvantaged coastal areas in England, and drawing on the notion of the insistent affirmation of possibility, we then discuss three dimensions of active social justice undertaken by participating school leaders. By examining practical examples of social justice, we aim to shift the debate into more positive territory, in which there can be more appreciation of the efforts and outcomes of some leaders in highly disadvantaged areas and more leaders can take heart in following their example.

KEYWORDS:

• Coastal schools
• educational disadvantage
• active social justice

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank all school leaders for their generosity in engaging with this research, and the anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to make this a much stronger article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rowena Passy

Rowena Passy is a Senior Research Fellow at the Plymouth Institute of Education, Plymouth University, where she moved in 2010 from employment as a Senior Research Officer at the National Foundation for Education Research. Her PhD research focused on family values in education, and since then her academic interests have broadened to include issues such as school leadership, widening participation and teacher training, all of which form part of this research into schools in deprived coastal regions.

Twitter: @PassyRowena

Tanya Ovenden-Hope

Tanya Ovenden-Hope is a committed and enthusiastic educationalist with nearly three decades of teaching, teacher education and educational leadership experience. An innovative academic, Tanya has maintained scholarly engagement in educational improvement and effectiveness throughout her career. Tanya identifies with the specific challenges for schools in remote locations, having lived and worked in Cornwall for many years and having grown up in an isolated coastal/rural community in Kent.

Twitter: @unieducator