Leadership, Learning, Well-being, and Justice in Educational Organizations

About this Research Topic

Background

Educational leadership is a pivotal factor influencing student learning, second only to direct classroom instruction. Leaders in educational settings are tasked with shaping a collective vision for inclusion and fostering a school culture centered on social justice and well-being, ensuring success for every student. The role of leadership in mobilizing and inspiring purposeful, interdependent action through a shared vision is crucial for leveraging teachers' professional capital, fostering a climate of innovation and inclusion, and enhancing teachers' agency and learning cultures within educational organizations. Despite the diversity of leadership styles — ranging from toxic to transformational, laissez-faire to instructional, and charismatic to servant — understanding their effects is essential, especially given the pressing need to construct new, inclusive educational environments. Current research highlights the importance of educational leadership practices that promote personal, professional, organizational, and social well-being, yet there remains a significant gap in comprehensively understanding how these practices can be optimized to foster quality teaching and inclusive learning.

This research topic aims to explore and highlight educational leadership practices that enhance personal, professional, organizational, and social well-being. The primary objective is to gather high-quality research that addresses both theoretical and practical issues related to various leadership styles, their demands, drivers, and challenges. Specifically, the research seeks to understand how leadership capital can sustain expertise, motivation, commitment, collaboration, agency, innovation, resilience, well-being, and justice within educational settings. By focusing on the roles of principals and middle leaders, the goal is to uncover how these individuals can guide significant, sustainable school transformation processes and respond effectively to social challenges.

To gather further insights into the boundaries of educational leadership, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- The impact of different leadership styles on school culture and student outcomes
- Strategies for fostering inclusive and just educational environments
- The role of leadership in promoting teacher agency and professional development
- Leadership practices that enhance innovation and resilience in schools
- The influence of leadership on organizational climate and culture
- Case studies of successful leadership interventions in diverse educational settings
- Theoretical analyses of leadership contributions to curricular justice and quality education
- Empirical studies on the well-being of educational leaders and their impact on school communities

Keywords: Leadership, Learning, Well-being, justice, Educational Organizations, Inclusion, Innovation, Organizational Trust, Agency, Capacity Building, Leadership Style

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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