UC San Diego

Public schools in the United States are serving a more heterogeneous student population than ever before. Despite numerous educational reform efforts, opportunity gaps persist between marginalized students and their White peers. Deep-seated barriers make it difficult for districts, schools, and especially site principals to effectively implement social justice practices in the service of equity and inclusion. This study examines the growing discourse on social justice leadership and the rising importance of the site principal in sustaining such practices when encountering opposition. Utilizing qualitative research, this study employed semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of K-12 principals who encounter resistance to their social justice leadership and the strategies they employ to overcome opposition. The findings in this study are in service of developing a keen awareness of how principals successfully overcome stakeholder resistance and strengthen their ability to lead socially just change in K-12 schools.Keywords: social justice, social justice leadership, principalship, equity and inclusion, resistance, practices K-12