Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences of aspiring school leaders who utilized artmaking (in this case, photography, poetry, music, collage, and short films) through Microsoft MovieMaker as a means for addressing injustices within surrounding school communities. The paper aims to explore how aspiring school leaders understood contemporary curriculum issues within increasingly culturally diverse school communities in the USA. Design/methodology/approach -This two-year qualitative study embedded in grounded theory examined the experiences of aspiring school leaders who utilized artmaking (in this case short films through Microsoft MovieMaker) to examine contemporary curriculum issues within surrounding school communities. This study is conducted within the naturalistic tradition. Findings -The significance of artmaking encourages participants to visually articulate the lived realities of disenfranchised populations. Participants engage in artmaking experience self-transformation and a calling to encouraging human agency. Originality/value -In the wake of addressing issues of social justice, the highly charged emotions associated with addressing such issues is evident in the range of emotions that surface including, anger, fear, intimidation, deep sorrow, resentment, joy, and others. Very little scholarship exists for aspiring school leaders who confront issues of social justice in relation to the intensity of emotions and their work.

There is little in the professional literature about how school leaders or other professionals committed to promoting social justice deal with and manage their emotional responses to the challenges that await them in educational arenas. Even less has been written about how art making can be utilized as a means of developing new understandings and responses toward issues facing underserved populations. This study seeks to examine how 24 graduate students in the state of Texas understand the role of art making—specifically, the making of digital shorts using MovieMaker—to address issues of social justice and equity facing U.S. public schools. This study employs a grounded theory approach. Data consist of reflective interview responses, written narratives, and field notes. Participants identify art making as a valuable tool to deepening understanding and responses toward social justice and equity-oriented work in schools.

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This study examines how 57 aspiring school leaders understand what it means to lead for social justice in K-12 schools. Grounded theory was employed for this qualitative study. The data collection included 855 audio and video reflections (15-55 minutes), 513 written narratives, 57 equity audits, and field notes. Emerging themes for this report include: (1) understanding social justice–oriented and equity-oriented pedagogies and work; (2) immersing oneself in culturally diverse contexts; (3) increasing critical consciousness; and (4) deepening empathic responses. Findings suggest promoting social justice-oriented transformative learning throughout coursework is critical to school leaders developing empathic responses toward disenfranchised populations. Implications suggest deepening empathic responses is critical to school leaders promoting social justice–oriented and equity-oriented work in schools.

This narrative inquiry seeks to advance the field of educational leadership preparation by exploring ways to interrupt personal, interpersonal, and institutional racism through the senses-ways in which people perceive their experiences and relation to others. Findings suggest that participants engage in actions aligned with revelations from their reflective process and utilize their positions as a lever to address racism at various levels within educational systems. Participants utilized their transformed storied selves to challenge the disparate impact of power and privilege on educational and social equity within school communities.