Looking for feminist leadership praxis in higher education: a systematic review of the literature

A new article from Professor Kay Fuller and Dr Asadullah Lashari has been published in the Journal of Educational Administration and History.

Abstract

Leadership in higher education dominates growth in research about women in educational leadership. However, leadership informed by feminism (feminist leadership praxis [FLP]) in higher education goes largely unreported. We report findings from a systematic literature review of research about FLP, funded by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship Grant. Analysis of fifteen papers shows leadership enactment, knowledge production and reproduction mostly drew on intersectionality perspectives. Feminist academic, administrative and student leaders advocated for social justice and activism across multiple borders. We argue the university contains multiple borderlands (geographical, social, sectoral, institutional, disciplinary, temporal, praxis) where consciousness raising, education and research occur in Spaces of tension, oppression and danger and Spaces of survival, creativity and hope. A radical approach to dismantle neoliberal structures and social inequalities associated with patriarchy and racism is necessary if the university is to become more inclusive for students, staff, leaders and the community in which it is located.

Please visit the publisher's website to access the article.

Professor Fuller's work focusses on gender and educational leadership and she is convenor of the Centre for Educational Leadership and Management. Dr Lashari  completed his doctoral studies at the University of Nottingham and is the head of the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Sindh Campus, Thatta in Pakistan.