Transformative Leadership in Multicultural Schooling Contexts: A Critical Reflection of in-Service Teachers’ Practices and School Managers’ Roles

Abstract

In exercising their power and authority, School Management Teams (SMTs) should engage in transformative leadership which commences with interrogations regarding social justice, democracy and social responsibility. According to Freire’s philosophy of education it is further expected of SMT members to support and shape the belief that autonomy is a condition arising from the responsible engagement with decision-making; that we are ‘unfinished’ in our development as human beings; and that we are responsible for the development of a critical consciousness as a necessary condition of freedom and the creation of democratic and equitable learning spaces. In a transformative leadership context, authority must inform all critical practices of pedagogical intervention and goal setting should support in-service teacher’s autonomy, self-worth and develop their potential and the level of intrinsic motivation to flourish in inclusive school settings. This paper reports on a qualitative pilot study conducted with SMT members and teachers in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa to gain their insights regarding their roles as leaders in devising mechanisms to invest in radical democratic principles and the promotion of inclusive school practices. The key findings indicate that the SMT’s role require that they interrogate their frame of reference and transform their thinking in terms of social justice in multicultural school settings and create opportunities for in-service teachers to develop professionally and use digital technology creatively to enhance teaching and learning. As a force for transformation, we conclude that transformative leadership may be a catalyst to engage school leaders and teachers in individual and combined processes of awareness of inclusive practices and action.