This book shows how critical theory can help school leaders and administrators to prepare students for the ever-changing political, cultural, economic, and societal conditions of the world. The contributors use ideas from critical theorists including Adorno, Fromm, Marcuse and Habermas and connect them with contemporary theories and debates in educational leadership from moral education to critical theories on race, to culturally relevant practice.

Educational Leadership and Critical Theory challenges the misconceptions of many present-day educators about the analytical lens offered by the Frankfurt School theorists which is often dismissed by policymakers and practitioners. Written by leading scholars based in the UK, USA, and Canada, the contributors emphasize and explain the importance of educational aesthetics, dialectics, education and civilization, the structural transformation of education's place in the public sphere, and education as revolution and enlightenment.