This volume raises critical questions about the qualities of democratic educational leadership during a time when the promise of democratic education and public life risks being abandoned, forgotten, and emptied of meaning. A diverse chorus of scholars in education take on this issue by analyzing the cultural context of educational leadership in the age of No Child Left Behind, by offering democratic counter-narratives of educational leadership, and by deconstructing popular culture representations of educational leaders. In doing so, they re-situate leadership within a political context and link it to struggles over social justice and human freedom. The contributing scholars also radically re-think educational leadership in ways that include teachers, university-based educators, and scholars as leaders. This volume raises critical questions about the qualities of democratic educational leadership during a time when the promise of democratic education and public life risks being abandoned, forgotten, and emptied of meaning. A diverse chorus of scholars in education take on this issue by analyzing the cultural context of educational leadership in the age of No Child Left Behind, by offering democratic counter-narratives of educational leadership, and by deconstructing popular culture representations of educational leaders. In doing so, they re-situate leadership within a political context and link it to struggles over social justice and human freedom. The contributing scholars also radically re-think educational leadership in ways that include teachers, university-based educators, and scholars as leaders. Introduction ix Dennis Carlson and Charles P. Gause PART ONE THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 1 Are We Making Progress? The Discursive Construction of Progress in the Age of "No Child Left Behind" 3 Dennis Carlson 2 Schooling, Markets, Race, and an Audit Culture 27 Michael W. Apple 3 Leadership, Culture, and Democracy: Rethinking Systems and Conflict in Schools 45 Richard A. Quantz 4 Some Historical Tensions about Sexuality and Gender in Schools 61 Jackie M. Blount 5 Excavating Hope among the Ruins: Confronting Creeping Fascism in Our Midst 79 Valerie Scatamburio-D'Annibale, Juha Suoranta, and Peter McLaren 6 Sissies, Faggots, Lezzies, and Dykes: Gender, Sexual Orientation, and a New Politics of Education? 117 Catherine A. Lugg 7 Re-Radicalizing the Consciousness in Educational Leadership: The Critically Spiritual Imperative toward Keeping the Promise 159 Michael E. Dantley 8 Student Engagement and Academic Achievement: A Promising Connection 177 Joanne Chesley PART TWO NARRATIVES OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 9 "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" Facing Identity Politics and Resistance When Teaching for Social Justice 197 Camille Wilson Cooper and Charles P. Cause 10 Beyond Generic Democracy: Holding Our Students Accountable for Democratic Leadership and Practice 217 Charles P. Gause, Ulrich C. Reitzug, and Leila E. Villaverde 11 Margaret Haley as Diva: A Case Study of a Feminist Citizen-Leader 233 Kathleen Knight Abowitz and Kate Rousmaniere 12 Unpacking on a Long Journey Home: A Lesson on Race, Identity, and Culture 257 Rochelle Garner 13 Making Her Community a Better Place to Live: Lessons from History for Culturally Responsive Urban School Leadership 269 Lauri Johnson 14 The Power and Limits of Small School Reform: Institutional Agency and Democratic Leadership in Public Education 287 Lori Chajet 15 Resisting the Passive Revolution: Democratic, Participatory Research by Youth 303 Michelle Fine PART THREE POPULAR CULTURE, THE MEDIA, AND EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 16 Media Literacy: An Entr for Preservice Teachers into Critical Pedagogy? 323 Stephanie A. Flores-Koulish 17 Leadership-With: A Spiritual Perspective on Professional & Revolutionary Leadership in a Digital Culture 335 Glenn M. Hudak 18 Halls of Anger: The (Mis)Representation of African American Principals in Film 357 Linda C. Tillman 19 Critically Examining Popular Culture Representations of Educators 373 James Trier Contributors 393 Index 397