Leading Against the Grain: The Politics and Emotions of Leading for Social Justice in South Africa

This article explores the work of leaders who promote social justice against the grain of public expectations. Employing a biographical lens, it describes a study of White South African principals who consciously and deliberately transform their white schools into racially diverse communities of teachers, learners and parents. It looks at the underpinning beliefs, attitudes and concerns that influence the ways in which these school principals lead their lives and their schools, what motivates their decisions to defy the dominant trends, how they balance competing pressures and tensions, and the consequences of their behaviors.