Research Article
Sharing the Responsibility for Children Experiencing Poverty: Wellbeing, Empowerment, Complexification, and Ecosystem Leadership
Rhonda L. McClellan 
,
Sarah E. Argue
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McClellan RL, Argue SE. Sharing the responsibility for children experiencing poverty: wellbeing, empowerment, complexification, and ecosystem leadership. European J Ed Manage. 2022;5(2):87-95. doi: 10.12973/eujem.5.2.87
McClellan, R. L., & Argue, S. E. (2022). Sharing the responsibility for children experiencing poverty: wellbeing, empowerment, complexification, and ecosystem leadership. European Journal of Educational Management, 5(2), 87-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/eujem.5.2.87
McClellan Rhonda L., and Sarah E. Argue. "Sharing the Responsibility for Children Experiencing Poverty: Wellbeing, Empowerment, Complexification, and Ecosystem Leadership," European Journal of Educational Management 5, no. 2 (2022): 87-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/eujem.5.2.87
McClellan, RL & Argue, S 2022, 'Sharing the responsibility for children experiencing poverty: wellbeing, empowerment, complexification, and ecosystem leadership', European Journal of Educational Management, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 87-95. McClellan, Rhonda L., and Sarah E. Argue. "Sharing the Responsibility for Children Experiencing Poverty: Wellbeing, Empowerment, Complexification, and Ecosystem Leadership." European Journal of Educational Management, vol. 5, no. 2, 2022, pp. 87-95, https://doi.org/10.12973/eujem.5.2.87.
Abstract
Poverty is a clustered and corrosive disadvantage that affects students throughout their lives. The education system has been positioned as an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Yet, the education system continues to fail to achieve its potential. We conceptually explore how educational leaders could perceive their responsibility in assisting children experiencing poverty and in leveraging the education ecosystem to fulfill the promise of full capability functioning through self-agency and empowerment. We call for an education leadership shift from an outcomes-based paradigm to a student-focused paradigm that embraces the complexity of poverty, develops students’ opportunities for self-agency and empowerment, and ultimately leads to a higher quality of life. We propose an interdisciplinary model of leadership.
Keywords: Ecosystems leadership, quality of life, empowerment, complexification, education, poverty.
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