Within this book Leadership for Social Justice: Promoting Equity and Excellence Through Inquiry and Reflective Practice the contributors provide a variety of rich perspectives to the social justice phenomenon from the lens of empirical, historical, narrative, and conceptual designs. These designs reiterate the importance of bridging theory and practice while simultaneously producing significant research and scholarship in the field. Collectively, the authors seek to give voice to empowering, social justice-focused research--an area that continues to garner much interest in the areas of educational leadership research, teaching, and learning. In conjunction with the "theme" of this issue, the chapters offer research from an American perspective and offer suggestions, and implications for the field of educational leadership on both a national and international level. The collection contributes to research, theory and practice in educational and community settings. Contents of this book include: (1) A Repository of Hope for Social Justice: Black Women Leaders at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Gaetane Jean-Marie and Anthony H. Normore; (2) Separate is Inherently Unequal: Rethinking Commonly Held Wisdom, Jonathan D. Lightfoot; (3) (OUT)siders at the Gates: Administrative Aspirants' Attitudes Towards the Gay Community, Autumn Tooms and Judy A. Alston; (4) "They don't speak English": Interrogating (Racist) Ideologies and Perceptions of School Personnel in a Midwestern State, Gerardo R. Lopez and Vanessa A. Vazquez; (5) From Scientific Management to Social Justice... and Back Again? Pedagogical Shifts in the Study and Practice of Educational Leadership, Jeffrey S. Brooks and Mark T. Miles; (6) School Reform and Freire's Methodolgy of Conscientization, Kathleen S. Sernak. (7) A neglected dimension of social justice: A model for science education in rural schools, Mary John O'Hair and Ulrich C. Reitzug; (8) A Collaboration of Community Educators Follows Crisis in Cincinnati: Two Museums and a University Join Forces to Promote Understanding, Lionel H. Brown, Judith I. Larsen, Ruth S.Britt, Donna M. Ruiz, and Rachel Star; (9) Student Voice Or Empowerment? Examining the Role of School-Based Youth-Adult Partnerships as an Avenue Toward Focusing on Social Justice, Dana L. Mitra; (10) Leadership for Social Justice and Morality: Collaborative Partnerships, School-Linked Services, and the Plight of the Poor, Anthony H. Normore and Roger I. Blanco; (11) Ethics, Values, and Social Justice Leadership: Embarking on a Moral Quest for Authenticity, Pauline Leonard; (12) (Re-) Constructing a Movement for Social Justice in Our Profession, Steven Jay Gross; (13) A New DEEL for an Old Problem: Social Justice at the Core, Valerie A. Storey and Thomas E. Beeman; and (14) Ethics and Social Justice Within the New DEEL: Addressing the Paradox of Control/Democracy, Joan Poliner Shapiro.