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Students have a unique perspective on how learning space design impacts their school experience (Cook-Sather, 2006). As a result, schools need to be intentional about capturing student voice and feedback throughout the design process. For learning environments to be responsive to the needs of students, schools must enact an inclusive, inquiry-based approach to design.

In this chapter, the authors describe the role that student voice played in an inquiry-driven, iterative process of designing and implementing innovative learning environments in the Middle School at Singapore American School. Through sharing three concrete examples of different data collection methodologies and the changes that emerged as a result of the feedback, the authors outline the power of intentionally centering student voice and experience in designing learning environments. School leaders will learn practical tools to use and a roadmap to follow to create a more inclusive, responsive process of learning environment design, whether engaging in small-scale renovations or planning a whole school. While this chapter focuses on applying this inquiry cycle to learning environments, the process described can equally be used to center student voice in other school change initiatives.

This introduction aims to set the context for the subsequent chapters that problematize various aspects of social justice, equity, and inclusion through particular lenses, and/or methodologies. This is done by presenting the ‘problem’ of social justice and equity in education, while simultaneously making links with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The term ‘social justice’ is appearing in numerous public texts and discourses within the education field, thus becoming a key concept in current education policy and practice. Moreover, the concept of social justice is crucial to theorizing about education and schooling, consequently being considered by politicians, policymakers, and practitioners in their thinking about the nature of education and the purpose of schools. Regrettably, education practitioners, researchers, and policymakers often utilize this umbrella term (social justice) while leaving out salient details about its social, cultural, economic, and political bearing. Notwithstanding the unanimous agreement on the desirability of social justice as an educational goal, this is complemented by a parallel contestation over its actual meaning and application in relation to schooling, that is, in relation to the formulation of policy and how it is to be included in practice. This chapter seeks to unravel the conceptual confusion around the terms social justice, equity, and inclusion in relation to schooling and education, through an exploration of the existing literature in the field.

Educators have had good reason to be concerned with social justice in a context where diversity has become more pronounced in both our schools and communities, with widening divisions between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. Internationally, increasing emphasis has been placed on utilizing the role of school leadership to address issues of social justice and equality, within a scenario where comparative studies of the performance of educational systems dominate the policy imagination globally, thus leading to increased pressure on school systems. This chapter presents a problematization of the social justice concept within education as presented in the literature, while setting out to critique this concept as an educational goal, as well as the role educational leadership is expected to play in the promotion of equity and social justice discourses through the lens of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This theoretical chapter has implications for theory, policy, and practice.

The importance of socially just leadership has been increasingly acknowledged in recent years as integral for tackling issues of disadvantage and inequality across education and schooling systems. However, there are still remaining questions about what these leadership practices look like in the everyday work of school leaders. This chapter draws on a research project to embed Indigenous perspectives in schools as an example of socially just leadership. The links between Indigenous communities and schools are a key focus area for improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students. This project sought to bring Indigenous community members into classrooms in six schools in New South Wales, Australia. Community members were recruited to work with teachers as co-constructors of learning activities that explicitly value and work with Indigenous perspectives. This chapter outlines the positive outcomes from this project as well as challenges faced by schools, teachers, principals, and community members as part of this culturally responsive work. The practices of community members, teachers, and principals are theorized using the notion of culturally responsive leadership. The chapter argues for an approach to leadership that is grounded in culturally responsive understandings to improve the educational outcomes and opportunities for Indigenous students and the cultural understanding and awareness of non-Indigenous students, to better promote reconciliation. This chapter provides a concrete example of powerful leadership practices that are working towards equity and social justice for their schools and communities. While the cases are specifically from the Australian context, they are relevant for a variety of schooling contexts and leadership practices.

Education is essential, reading is fundamental, and education is freedom. These are not just hollow clichés, but truisms, probably more so today than ever. Education is freedom, in author's opinion, genuinely reflects the lives of Blacks in this society. The author believes there is no more noble profession than being a dedicated educator but given its current relatively modest status, lives such as Douglass' can emphasize to present and future educators how important their dedication is to the liberation of our youth, particularly youth who are subjugated and possibly experience special needs. The structural obstructions in this society are very real, but the author found the greatest obstacles were psychological, e.g., learning to reject the stereotypes and to pursue her goals, despite the subtle as well as explicit efforts to sabotage. The author shares her early development, which helped shape some personal strategies especially helpful for remaining on course. The author learned the important role of love and passion to enhance her work. The author learned to minimize the negativity, to recruit assistance as needed, to enjoy her students, and to grasp opportunities that presented itself. The author also learned to seek and appreciate the many valuable sources of goodness. Most of the author's battles were within rather than against perceived adversaries, but author did learn to take a stand when external forces appeared to jeopardize the essence of her educational purpose and the constituency, the author was most committed to serve.

Achieving basic education and equitable education outcomes remains a challenge, therefore, improving equity in education has evolved as a particularly important policy priority in all OECD countries. This chapter concentrates on equity in the Maltese education system, with a particular focus on how the policyscape makes provision for achieving, improving, and maintaining equity in compulsory schooling. As an EU member state, Malta has been affected by the evolution, causes, and consequences of social, educational, and economic inequalities that have been an ardently contentious and controversial issue given the recent economic crisis in Europe. This chapter utilizes Bacchi’s ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) approach to analyse national school inclusion policy in Malta as illustrative of policies mobilized to address the problem of inequality, therefore acknowledging the need for a provision of equity as a major agenda. The results of this small-scale study have theoretical and methodological implications for academics, policymakers, and practitioners in the educational policy field. This study highlights the fact that there are a number of persistent challenges for achieving equity in education, especially the immigrant-native educational gap, despite European policy makers having been very active in the educational field.

Schools increasingly acknowledge their role in aiding refugee youth integration and inclusivity. Yet, schools often lack readiness in addressing diverse challenges faced by displacement. Navigating new languages and educational systems presents formidable barriers to educational advancement for many young refugees. Many refugee students arrive with limited, interrupted, or disrupted formal education; literacy challenges compounded by trauma from displacement. Despite recognizing the need for inclusive learning environments, schools struggle to implement effective interventions for students with such diverse backgrounds and education. This paper explores the challenges faced by one school and its students, emphasizing the need for flexibility, support, and understanding from both the school and the broader community to overcome obstacles and reclaim student’s ambitions and childhood dreams. Intensive Language Centers (ILC) and classroom support are pivotal in developing English skills, yet some efforts lack efficacy. Success hinges on a holistic approach, encompassing trauma, familial dynamics, socialization, and cultural integration. Such measures are imperative for refugee students to thrive in Australian schools and pursue higher education. The research highlights the importance of a holistic approach, addressing academic, language, cultural, trauma, and resettlement challenges. Recognizing and accommodating these layers essential for fostering an environment where refugee students can successfully adapt and thrive in higher education.

This chapter examines how Latvia manages Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within a policymaking process in Latvia – how SGDs are interpreted into policy actions in Latvia. This chapter is based on the two cases to reveal a link between SDGs and wicked problems. The case of education is about policy and strategic planning considering the high priority of the education sector in society. At the same time, climate change reflects the opposite perspective – limited public attention and fewer policy actions. Thus, both cases reveal actual policy implementation with several uncertainties. In the meantime, both topics are essential to identify strategies for solving wicked agendas related to policy coherence and interconnection among goals. As a result, the implementation of SDGs needs more institutional mechanisms for future-oriented policymaking where the present development needs are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.