Leadership Standards: Marginalizing Diversity

Abstract

This article adopts a macro perspective on the role of leadership standards to comment on the sociological impact of their implementation. Where the growing diversity of learners in Canadian schools has invited a pluralism of ideas, research methods and approaches to learning, leadership standards induce increasingly homogenized responses to complex learning environments. Using a Constructionist theory of knowledge and Foucault’s conceptualization of power, this article asserts leadership standards subordinate the agency of educational leaders. This article will be of interest to educators and educational leaders who must balance administrative priorities with increasingly diverse learner needs.