Why educative school leadership based on anarcho-syndicalist principles will fail, but is still necessary: A conversation at the intersection of theory and practice

Abstract

This article takes a novel approach to thinking about the practice of educative leadership. An intellectual conversation between two academics and a school principal, it seeks to work through questions regarding the practicalities for a school principal in actually advancing educative leadership based on anarcho-syndicalist principles. Taking these questions seriously, the intention of this article is to think through these questions not from the ‘ivory tower’ but in dialogue. The aim was to write something that was more collaborative than an interview but less formal and academic than a philosophical dialogue. Instead, the authors worked together to have an intellectual conversation bringing together philosophical and practical reflection on how educative leadership based on anarcho-syndicalist principles might be imagined and initiated.