A Nested View of Democratic Leadership and Community

This introductory article explains the purpose of the special issue, which is to: - contribute to the development of conceptual tools and provide empirically grounded insights to help practitioners and policy-makers advance more democratic approaches to education in classrooms, schools, and districts, and - deepen understanding of leadership as democratic practice and as a means of promoting education for democratic society and citizenship. The five articles in the special issue are organised according to a nested view of democratic leadership and community - working from an overarching holistic frame, through the levels of socio-ecological communities, school districts, schools and classrooms.