Exploring intersections of educational leadership, educational change and student empowerment

Pressures for education and schooling to be changed and ‘re-imagined’ have accelerated in recent decades (Riddle & Apple, 2019; Rincón-Gallardo, 2019) and the circumstances that have disrupted life as we know it in 2020 illustrate this to an unprecedented level. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis and the fundamental shifts in education that have resulted, conversations had long been focused on how schools adapt and change to meet the needs of modern societies and the complexities, diversities and interconnectivities that are inherent in our globalised, technologically rich world. This article describes my research focus which is interested in responding to these calls for significant change. I consider ways that the work of educational leaders can facilitate change within and beyond their schools by disrupting the dynamics of agency and power that have traditionally existed between students, teachers and school leaders. I have explored how interactions between leadership practices, school improvement approaches, and student empowerment enable and constrain greater levels of disruptive change. I have found that a focus on relationships, including leaders having direct connections with students, and being willing to share power over school arrangements, structures and practices, can lead to innovative change and support students to engage with education in productive and meaningful ways.