Future Alternatives for Educational Leadership

Dr Deborah Netolicky is an education leader and researcher with more than 25 years of experience leading and teaching in independent schools across Australia and England. Operating as a 'pracademic'—bridging the gap between academic scholarship and high-stakes school governance—Deborah is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds a PhD in school leadership and educational change. Currently serving as a school principal, senior fellow, and board member, she is dedicated to building futures-looking organisational cultures of trust, inclusivity, and rigour. Deborah’s leadership is anchored in collective action, stakeholder engagement, and strategic governance to ensure schools, staff, and students are prepared for a technology-rich world, while honouring tradition and remaining anchored in human values.

• Introduction: What’s now and what’s next in educational leadership Section I: Knowledge and Theory of Educational Leadership 1. Back to the future: Recuperating educational administration? 2. Leading forward by salvaging for the future 3. Wayfinding: Navigating complexity for sustainable school leadership 4. Leading in context: Lessons from Nuance 5. Distributed leadership and networking: Exploring the evidence base Section 2: Diversity and Inclusion in Educational Leadership 6. Multilevel distributed leadership: From why to how 7. 'Deadly leadership' in the pursuit of Indigenous education excellence 8. Leadership, identity, and intersectionality 9. Women as leaders in education: What works and what must we improve? 10. A tale of two leaders: Reflecting on senior co-leadership in higher education Section 3: Systems and Structures for Educational Leadership 11. Leading large-scale educational change in the twenty-first century: Educational leadership pre-, during, and post-pandemic 12. Educational administration’s paradises lost: A flâneur/se stroll through the futures past 13. Schools as ecosystems of leadership: Leading by all and for all 14. Leading to liberate learning: Educational change meets social movements. 15. What could education leadership look like outside the system? Conclusion: Educational leadership for all

"A fantastic collection of brilliant voices about educational leadership from around the globe. A collective reflection and rethinking about education for diversity, equity, inclusion, and democracy. A much-needed hopeful volume!"-Professor Yong Zhao - Foundation Distinguished Professor at the School of Education at the University of Kansas and Professor in Educational Leadership at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education"In an era in which COVID-19 has swept aside old certainties, this timely and important book provides a rich and diverse set of insights into the past, present, and potential future of educational leadership. It provides a range of alternative ways of thinking about its topic, drawing on key principles of diversity, inclusion, equity, and democracy. I would highly recommend this book to scholars, students, and future thinkers for valuable insights into rethinking educational leadership as practice and praxis."Professor Jane Wilkinson - Professor in Educational Leadership at Monash University, Associate Dean Graduate Research and Lead Editor of the Journal of Educational Administration and History"In this edited volume, Future Alternatives for Educational Leadership: Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Democracy, Dr Deborah M. Netolicky and colleagues offer a treasure trove of insights and wisdom to help shift paradigms in educational leadership. Bringing together and synthesizing cutting-edge ideas in the field, the contributors authentically centre—and celebrate—liberatory leadership and action, and invite readers to imagine new ways forward with hope and commitment. While important in its own right, the message of this book resounds with unprecedented urgency in the midst of the triple global pandemics we are living and learning our way through. Gratitude to all of the authors for their necessary and energizing provocations."Professor Ellie Drago-Severson - Professor of Education Leadership & Adult Learning, Leadership Director of the PhD Program in Education Leadership, and Director of the Leadership Institute for School Change, Teachers College, Columbia University"The work of an educator has never been challenged the way it is today. Leadership in education during current political turmoil, economic uncertainty, and global health crisis may sound like a mission impossible. But wait, this future-focused volume comes to the rescue for educational leaders from classrooms to ministerial cabinets. It is a must-read for anyone hoping to understand what it is to be a leader in the post-pandemic world." Pasi Sahlberg - Professor of Education Policy, the University of New South Wales and author of Finnish Lessons 3.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?