This conceptual and practical paper aims to expand understanding of imagination in ways that have direct implications for leadership education and research. First, imagination is conceptualized as soil, an analogy that can address misconceptions about imagination and broaden understanding of the multiple ways it contributes to leadership. Next, an educational theory called Imaginative Education (IE) is introduced that offers theoretical understanding of imagination and practical tools for its development. Finally, what imagination yields in terms of individual and collective leadership processes is described along with specific “cognitive tools” that may be used to cultivate imagination in school leadership.

Both local and global issues are typically dealt with in the Social Studies curriculum, or in curriculum areas with other names but similar intents. In the literature about SocialStudies the imagination has played little role, and consequently it hardly appears in texts designed to help teachers plan and implement Social Studies lessons. What is true of Social Studies is also largely reflected in general texts concerning planning teaching. Clearly many theorists and practitioners are concerned to engage students' imaginations in learning, even though they use terms other than 'imagination' in doing so. This article suggests that a more explicit attention to imagination can make our efforts to engage students in learning more effective. We provide, first, a working definition of imagination, then show how students' imaginations can be characterized in terms of the 'cognitive toolkits' they bring to learning. We look at such 'cognitive tools' as stories, images, humor, binary oppositions, a sense of mystery and how these can be used to engage students' imaginations in learning Social Studies and other content from kindergarten to about grade four. We then consider 'cognitive tools' commonly deployed by students from about grade four to grade nine, including a sense of reality, the extremes of experience and limits of reality, and associating with the heroic. We also provide examples of how using such tools could influence planning and teaching Social Studies topics.

In environmental and ecological education, a rich literature builds on the premise that place, the local natural context in which one lives, can be an emotionally engaging context for learning and the source of life-long concern for nature. A theory of imaginative education can help uncover new tools and strategies for place-based educators. Conversely, a focus on the imaginative dimensions of place-making sheds new light on the nature of imaginative development, with important implications for educational theory and practice.

There is very little research on imagination in the context of leadership in general, and even less in relation to educational leadership. Drawing on available research on imagination in leadership and scholarship in the field of imagination, this qualitative content analysis seeks to add to foundational understanding of imagination's role in educational leadership. First, it describes the range of meanings leaders hold about imagination and the contradictory feelings these meanings create. Second, it indicates some of the varied ways in which imagination contributes to leadership. Third, it contributes a definition of imagination that encompasses the potential value of imagination for leadership now and into the future. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for future research and identifies the improvisational imagination as an additional feature that imagination contributes to leadership practices. The research shows that imagination is not something we should call on only in times of crisis, but, rather, that it is an indispensable ally in dealing with leadership challenges of all kinds. Imagination is more than the whimsical spark of creativity; it is an integral skill that allows leaders to move beyond embedded ideas while creating new-and meaningful-change.

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