Social Justice Leadership, Critical Race Theory, and 21st Century Teaching underscore the paramount importance of fostering inclusivity and addressing systemic disparities within educational settings. Educational leaders play a pivotal role in creating environments that prioritize equity, fairness, and social consciousness. Effective leadership in the 21st century demands adept navigation and integration of technology, promoting critical thinking, collaboration, and adaptability among students. This paper advocates the transformative shift from traditional leadership approaches towards a social justice leadership orientation. Emphasizing the creation of critical spaces and discourses, empowerment of communities, and the seamless integration of social justice practices throughout the school, the perspective presented contends that this orientation is indispensable for contemporary educational leadership. Drawing insights from the literature on social justice leadership, critical race theory, and 21st Century Teaching, Learning, the article proposes four pivotal leadership action areas: visionary leadership, instructional leadership, organizational leadership, and collaboration leadership. These areas are strongly recommended to support principals and assistant principals in effectively addressing and mitigating the racial discipline gap. The educational leadership actions outlined aim to forge a more equitable and inclusive educational environment by aligning with the principles of social justice and leveraging the transformative potential of contemporary teaching and learning methodologies.

Authors: Sirous Tabrizi, Vahid Shalchi

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2024

• Date of Conference: 23-25 July, 2024
• DOI: 10.20533/CICE.2024.0027
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-913572-65-5
• Conference Location: Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada