A Call for Social Justice Work: How Three Women of Color Experienced Their Administrator Preparation Program to the Assistant Principalship

In this day and age, when educational administrators are required to make effective progress and academic achievement for all students, educational administrator preparational programs must equip all prospective leaders with the skill sets, knowledge, and experience to lead diverse student populations to high levels of learning and academic success. In this exploratory qualitative study, the researchers examined the lived experiences of three women of color in their educational administrator preparational program to their first administrative role as assistant principals. Selected participants participated in semi-structured interviews. A synthesis of key research on social justice education, social justice leadership, ethical leadership, and social justice work defined the researchers' definitions of social justice and social justice work. Using Starratt's (1991, 1996) multidimensional model on ethical leadership to address social justice work, the researchers found that even though there was not a pervasive theme of social justice in the program, the women felt "prepared" for their next job. Yet, participants still suggested that the program "go deeper" in addressing how to do social justice work in order to address the demands placed on all educational administrators today. Findings from this paper reveal an immediate call to action for educational administrative leadership programs to prioritize and to prepare all aspiring leaders for social justice work with a discussion on what next steps for initiating and implementing social justice work could possibly entail.