This book breaks new ground in studies on education and social justice by bringing together an unprecedented conceptual richness and innovation combined with real-life narrations on the practice of leadership by leading women drawn from across continents and countries. The fact that these stories of leadership are drawn from a deliberate cross-national sample of education leaders breaks the ethnocentrism so evident in the major books and journal articles on leaders, leadership and social justice emanating from the West.

But these are not ‘mere stories;’ each narrative is deeply grounded within theory and data that emerge naturally from the life-experiences of those who lead in difficult contexts and, quite often, against the grain of an androcentrism afflicting scholarship and practice on education leadership that remains susceptible to corporate models of how to lead. The book’s additional value lies in its valuing of complexity; gone are those simplistic and formulaic accounts of “ten steps to leadership” or “leadership in thirty minutes.” You are drawn as reader into the many layers of leadership, its contradictions and contestations, its emotions and politics, its spirituality and the resilience of its women practitioners.

Jonathan Jansen, rector and vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

A highly informative, accessible collection of narratives describing the work, challenges, and satisfactions of women academics—provides both inspiration and sound advice.

Nel Noddings, Lee L. Jacks professor of Education, Emerita, at Stanford University

Shaping Social Justice Leadership: Insights of Women Educators Worldwide was born in the Women Leading Education Across the Continents gatherings. This book is a collection of very personal accounts of the courageous leadership of women around the world paving the way for those who have been denied opportunity. Read it! You will be inspired and amazed at the strength, endurance, and resilience of these remarkable women.

Sarah Jerome Ed.D, superintendent of schools in Arlington Heights, Illinois; past president of American Association of School Administrators

Stories have always been important. Through stories we learn about the experience of others, but also about ourselves and our society. We draw meaning and inspiration from them. The individual stories in this volume speak to us across nations, across race and culture of the struggles and achievements of women who serve education. This book will be a long-term resource from which we can draw ideas and moral courage to continue the fight for equality for women. The book is a testament both to how far we have yet to go and how much possibility there is to move along the road.

Jacky Lumby, emeritus professor, University of Southampton, UK

Shaping Social Justice Leadership: Insights of Women Educators Worldwide is a powerful text dominated by multiple voices that speak up and speak back to the challenges women educators face in their everyday lives. It is impossible to read this text and not share the joys, sorrows, successes, and anxieties embedded in the narratives. This text is a renewed call for social justice leadership—leadership that matters.

Tanya Fitzgerald, professor of Educational Leadership and Management, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Shaping Social Justice Leadership wonderfully depicts the realities—triumphs and struggles—of women educational leaders in their pursuits of equity and justice. The powerful and moving use of narrative provides an important resource for educational leaders. Readers will come away with a better understanding of essential aspects to advancing issues of justice.

George Theoharis, Associate Professor, Syracuse University