LGBTQ+ Leadership in Education
Visibility, Vision, and Voice
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- Description
- Contents
- Reviews
- About
The distinct nature of LGBTQ+ Leadership in Education is often misunderstood, overlooked, and undervalued. This groundbreaking book explores the contributions and transformative potential of LGBTQ+ educational leaders, weaving together personal stories, strategic insights, and critical analysis. Across job functions, contexts, and career stages, it explores the challenges, priorities, and contributions of LGBTQ+ leaders—including educators with multiple marginalised identities.
Grounded in the realities of the UK education sector, LGBTQ+ Leadership in Education highlights the vital role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in leadership, recognising the advocacy work of LGBTQ+ leaders and the transformative power of queer networks in shaping institutional cultures. Chapter authors offer a nuanced appreciation of authenticity, visibility, influence, and leadership development, while engaging with queer theory to challenge dominant models that perpetuate inequality.
An essential resource for educators at all levels, it empowers leaders to reexamine, refine, and strengthen their own leadership practice, fostering inclusive and effective educational environments for all.
Chapter 1. Introduction; Alex Baird and Charlotte Feather
- Part I. Foundations of LGBTQ+ Leadership: Networks, Early Years, and Primary Education
- Chapter 2. Leadership in LGBTQ+ Networks; Jo Brassington
- Chapter 3. Navigating Leadership without a Map: A Trans Educator's Journey in Early Years; Kelsey-Ann Caldow
- Chapter 4. Navigating Leadership and LGBTQ+ Visibility in Primary Education: Reflections on Section 28, Advocacy, and Inclusive Practices; Holly Coull
- Chapter 5. A Quiet Activism: How My Experience as an LGBT+ Teacher and Leader Shapes My Drive for Change in Schools; Gerlinde Achenbach
- Part II. Navigating LGBTQ+ Leadership: Governance, Secondary, and Further Education
- Chapter 6. Reflections as a Gay Leader in UK Secondary Schools; Richard McDonald
- Chapter 7. LGBTQ+ Leadership in the Catholic School Context; George White
- Chapter 8. Saying Yes, Saying No: Navigating Being an LGBTQ+ Leader in Secondary Schools and Further Education; Jonny Tridgell
- Chapter 9. Hope through Supportive and Challenging School Governance; Gary Pykitt
- Part III. Reimagining LGBTQ+ Leadership: Higher Education and Professional Development
- Chapter 10. The Journey of a LGBTQ+ Educator, Researcher, and Activist; Alex Baird
- Chapter 11. The Queered Equilibrium: Reframing Leadership and Power for Early-Career Academics; Charlotte Feather
- Chapter 12. Empowering LGBTQ+ Leaders in Higher Education: Navigating Identity, Inclusion, and Career Progression; Catherine Lee and Daniel Burman
- Chapter 13. Teaching the Future Leaders: Learning and Training to Become a Successful LGBTQ+ Leader within Higher Education; Helen Bushell-Thornalley
- Part IV. Transforming LGBTQ+ Leadership: Systems, Structures, and Community
- Chapter 14. Follow the Leader? Critically Questioning LGBT+ Leadership in the Surveillance University; Pippa Sterk
- Chapter 15. Lessons Learnt Becoming UCL IOE’s First and Only; Simon Liu
- Chapter 16. Leaving to Lead: Reimagining Inclusion in Higher Education as a Black, Neurodivergent, Lesbian Leader; Catherine Millan
- Chapter 17. Conclusion; Catherine Lee and Daniel Burman
This is an essential and timely book that challenges assumptions about who gets to lead and what leadership can look like. Examples of LGBTQ+ leadership span from early years through to higher education, and highlight the power and significance of this work both within formal educational structures and through networks beyond them. This is the book I needed at the start of my career, and the one I will continually return to as a senior leader for guidance, reassurance, and solidarity.
This outstanding book is a necessary and timely contribution to the field of educational leadership offering an honest, personal, and intellectual exploration of LGBTQ+ leadership across the UK education system. Through the voices of sixteen diverse contributors, the book challenges conventional paradigms, examines the role of authenticity, and foregrounds the transformative potential of queer leadership. From early years to higher education, the book weaves together lived experience, critical theory, and policy analysis to highlight the systemic barriers that LGBTQ+ educators can face, as well as the radical hope they can bring in dismantling these obstacles. This title is essential reading for educators, leaders and researchers committed to reimagining what leadership can truly be.
This is a timely and essential book for LGBTQ+ leaders - not only within education but across all sectors. Richly researched yet highly accessible, it amplifies lived experiences that are too often overlooked and underrepresented. At a moment when leadership and inclusion are more critical than ever, this book offers both inspiration and practical insight, leaving readers motivated to drive meaningful and lasting change.
Alex Baird is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Education at the University of Bedfordshire, UK.
Catherine Lee MBE is Professor of Inclusive Education and Leadership and Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, UK.
Charlotte Feather is Senior Lecturer at the University of Sunderland, UK, with specialisms in LGBTQ+ inclusive education, professional identity development, and critical pedagogy for social justice.
Daniel Burman is Senior Business Operations Manager at Anglia Ruskin University, UK.