Pat Thomson (University of Nottingham, UK) and Amanda Heffernan (Monash University, Australia)

What is the problem? How does the chapter support your thinking about the problem?

The chapter provides an introduction to readers about the importance and possibilities of using critical theory in educational leadership, management, and administration research. We discuss and define theory, and discuss the reasons for using theory to bring educational leadership, management, and administration research to life. In the chapter, we offer examples of how theory might be used in research, drawing on examples of Bourdieu and Foucault, before concluding with some of the challenges and risks involved in researching and writing with theory.

What are other ways to think about this? Where can I go next to follow these up?

Using Theory in Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration Research

The following books and articles provide insights into using theory in research. Some are focused on education more generally, while others are specifically targeted towards educational leadership, management, and administration research.

Anyon, J. (Ed). (2009). Theory and Educational Research: Toward Critical Social Explanation. Routledge.

Using Bourdieu and Foucault in Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration Research

Bourdieu:

Thomson, P. (2018). Educational Leadership and Pierre Bourdieu. Routledge.

Eacott, S. (2010). Bourdieu’s strategies and the challenge for educational leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 13(3), 265-281, DOI: 10.1080/13603120903410587 

Courtney, S.J., (2017). Corporatising school leadership through hysteresis. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38(7), 1054–1067.

Foucault:

Gillies, D. (2015). Educational Leadership and Michel Foucault. Routledge. 

Heffernan, A. (2018). The Principal and School Improvement: Theorising Discourse, Policy, and Practice. Springer.

Dolan, C. (2020). Paradox and the School Leader: The Struggle for the Soul of the Principal in Neoliberal Times. Springer.

Other critical and social theorists in Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration Research

The following readings offer opportunities to engage with a range of theories and theorists in educational leadership, management, and administration research. These articles and books take critical perspectives towards many of the issues addressed within this book, and can show you how to think deeply, with and through a range of theories.

Niesche, R., & Heffernan, A. (Eds). (2020). Theorising Identity and Subjectivity in Educational Leadership Research. Routledge.

Blackmore, J. (2017). Educational Leadership and Nancy Fraser. Routledge.

Gunter, H. (2015). Educational Leadership ctor-Network Theory. Routledge.

Samier, E., & Milley, P. (Eds). (2018). International Perspectives on Maladministration in Education: Theories, Research, and Critiques. Routledge.

Samier, E., & Bates, R. (Eds). (2006). The Aesthetic Dimensions of Educational Administration & Leadership. Routledge.

There are two book series we recommend engaging with to see a range of critical theories being put to use in research:

Critical Studies in Educational Leadership, Management and Administration

https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Studies-in-Educational-Leadership-Management-and-Administration/book-series/ELMA

This series brings major theorists from the social and political sciences to critical studies of educational leadership, management and administration. The books provide accessible introductions to key theories combined with explanations of what they offer that will deepen, enliven and enrich studies of schools, further and higher education and adult and community education settings.

Educational Leadership Theory

https://www.springer.com/series/15484

The Educational Leadership Theory book series provides a forum for internationally renowned and emerging scholars whose ongoing scholarship is seriously and consequentially engaged in theoretical and methodological developments in educational leadership, management and administration.

The following journals would be useful starting points to see sociological and theoretical innovation in research. Some focus specifically on educational leadership, management, and administration, while others are broader in their scope. 

Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration:

Journal of Educational Administration and History

International Journal of Leadership in Education

General Education:

British Journal of Sociology of Education

Educational Philosophy and Theory

Critical Studies in Education