Understanding emancipatory forms of educational leadership through schooling justice work: an action research study into second chance schooling development

ABSTRACT

Concerned about the phenomena of early school leaving in our region, we are two teachers who initiated and developed a new school from the ‘ground up’ to re-engage young people disenfranchised with schooling back into formalised learning. Using critical action research methodology over a three and a half year developmental period, this endeavour involved us in exercising particular dimensions of leadership to engineer a sustainable second chance school. Twelve years after its development, the school continues with enrolments of over 100 senior secondary students in recent years. The schooling justice work we pursued during the developmental period drew us into ‘emancipatory’ leadership work that called us to be; (1) teacher activists embracing social entrepreneurial strategies imbued with (2) relational sensibilities, and (3) architects of socially just school design informed by (4) critical praxis within a university led professional learning community. The ‘second chance school’ has re-engaged over 1000 students back into formalised learning since its inception and has offered pathways into post-school tertiary study, apprenticeships and training for the majority of these students.

KEYWORDS:

• Leadership
• educational change
• school improvement

Notes on contributors

Dr Andrew Bills has a particular interest in critical sociology, action research, and hermeneutic phenomenology as vehicles for exploring the experiential, relational and phenomenological nature of education and educational leadership.

Jenni Cook is a school leader at Mount Barker High School and has a particular interest in action research, hermeneutic phenomenology and appreciative inquiry research methodologies as vehicles for exploring the experiential, relational and phenomenological nature of education in schools and educational leadership.

Professor David Giles has a particular interest in hermeneutic phenomenology and appreciative inquiry research methodologies as vehicles for exploring the experiential, relational and phenomenological nature of education and educational leadership.

Notes

1. Centrelink is a government agency that coordinates welfare payments for unemployed people.

2. TAFE is an acronym for Training and Further Education, an adult training institution that accredits students in competency-based higher education courses.

3. Soft funding is temporary funding.

4. Couch surfing is the practice of moving from home to home and sleeping on the couch when housing is not available.