Pub Date : 2023-07-03DOI: 10.1177/10526846231187576
Tomicka N. Williams, Yi-Hwa Liou
This qualitative study explores school leaders’ (principals and assistant principals) perspectives on crisis leadership roles and their competencies in responding to and managing a crisis. The role of school leaders has become increasingly disrupted by unexpected incidents that are diverse and complex in nature. As such, their knowledge of crisis leadership roles and competencies is critical for schools’ effectiveness in an era of crisis management. The study draws on complex adaptive system theory (CAST) to explore the roles necessary for school leaders to become crisis leaders and analyze school leaders’ experiences and responses to crises in the educational setting. This study investigates qualitative interview data from 20 principals and assistant principals who were knowledgeable of safety protocols and experienced a crisis in one southern K-12 school district in the United States. Data analysis yielded three main leadership roles: (a) agile decision-maker, (b) influencer, and (c) coordinator. Each role is supported with interview data and literature to describe the competencies that guide the action of leaders as they respond to and manage a crisis. The roles support school leaders in reshaping their understanding of a crisis leader, and the competencies explain the actions during crisis response for a school leader. Exploring school leadership roles to manage a crisis in the K-12 system contributes to the literature on crisis leadership in the educational setting during a crisis.
本定性研究探讨了学校领导(校长和副校长)对危机领导角色的看法,以及他们应对和管理危机的能力。学校领导的角色越来越多地被性质复杂多样的意外事件打乱。因此,他们对危机领导角色和能力的了解对学校在危机管理时代的有效性至关重要。本研究运用复杂适应系统理论(complex adaptive system theory, CAST)探讨学校领导者成为危机领导者的必要角色,并分析学校领导者在教育情境下的危机经验与应对。本研究调查了美国南部一个K-12学区的20位熟悉安全协议并经历过危机的校长和副校长的定性访谈数据。数据分析产生了三个主要的领导角色:(a)敏捷决策者,(b)影响者,(c)协调者。每个角色都有采访数据和文献支持,以描述指导领导者在应对和管理危机时采取行动的能力。这些角色支持学校领导重塑他们对危机领导者的理解,能力解释了学校领导在危机应对期间的行动。探讨在K-12系统中管理危机的学校领导角色有助于在危机期间教育环境中的危机领导的文献。
{"title":"Framing K-12 School Leaders’ Roles and Competencies in Times of Crisis","authors":"Tomicka N. Williams, Yi-Hwa Liou","doi":"10.1177/10526846231187576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231187576","url":null,"abstract":"This qualitative study explores school leaders’ (principals and assistant principals) perspectives on crisis leadership roles and their competencies in responding to and managing a crisis. The role of school leaders has become increasingly disrupted by unexpected incidents that are diverse and complex in nature. As such, their knowledge of crisis leadership roles and competencies is critical for schools’ effectiveness in an era of crisis management. The study draws on complex adaptive system theory (CAST) to explore the roles necessary for school leaders to become crisis leaders and analyze school leaders’ experiences and responses to crises in the educational setting. This study investigates qualitative interview data from 20 principals and assistant principals who were knowledgeable of safety protocols and experienced a crisis in one southern K-12 school district in the United States. Data analysis yielded three main leadership roles: (a) agile decision-maker, (b) influencer, and (c) coordinator. Each role is supported with interview data and literature to describe the competencies that guide the action of leaders as they respond to and manage a crisis. The roles support school leaders in reshaping their understanding of a crisis leader, and the competencies explain the actions during crisis response for a school leader. Exploring school leadership roles to manage a crisis in the K-12 system contributes to the literature on crisis leadership in the educational setting during a crisis.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89465431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-30DOI: 10.1177/10526846231187569
Matthew Drabenstott, R. Smyth, Michelle Searle, Lori C. Kirkpatrick, Chantal Labonté
Mental health challenges among students remain a complex and widespread problem facing school leaders. Though schools are a front-line pathway for providing mental health services, many struggling youth are not receiving the professional help they need (Atkins, Hoagwood, Kutash, & Seidman, 2010; Findlay, 2017). Creative and collaborative solutions are needed to bridge the mental health gap. School leader support is essential to the successful implementation of mental health interventions (Forman, Olin, Hoagwood, Crowe, & Saka, 2009). This paper summarizes the novel approach taken by school and community leaders in one rural Ontario community who jointly piloted a school-based social worker (SBSW) role to support secondary schools in two districts. Interviews with five district leaders (four involved in designing the intervention and the SBSW who piloted the role) reveal conditions necessary for the pilot to take place, as well as leader involvement in setting up, supporting, monitoring the new role. Interviews highlighted multiple ways which the pilot improved student mental well-ness: one-on-one and group counselling sessions, charting fresh pathways networks of support available to students, creating a safe space for student and staff drop-ins, among other benefits to schools and stakeholders involved in the pilot. Results also detail three challenges leaders encountered along the way: stakeholder agreement, role clarity, and the temporary design of the role. Findings underscore how school-based social workers show promise in addressing rising mental health challenges.
{"title":"School Leaders’ Response to Rising Mental Health Concerns: A Collaborative School-Based Social Worker Pilot","authors":"Matthew Drabenstott, R. Smyth, Michelle Searle, Lori C. Kirkpatrick, Chantal Labonté","doi":"10.1177/10526846231187569","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231187569","url":null,"abstract":"Mental health challenges among students remain a complex and widespread problem facing school leaders. Though schools are a front-line pathway for providing mental health services, many struggling youth are not receiving the professional help they need (Atkins, Hoagwood, Kutash, & Seidman, 2010; Findlay, 2017). Creative and collaborative solutions are needed to bridge the mental health gap. School leader support is essential to the successful implementation of mental health interventions (Forman, Olin, Hoagwood, Crowe, & Saka, 2009). This paper summarizes the novel approach taken by school and community leaders in one rural Ontario community who jointly piloted a school-based social worker (SBSW) role to support secondary schools in two districts. Interviews with five district leaders (four involved in designing the intervention and the SBSW who piloted the role) reveal conditions necessary for the pilot to take place, as well as leader involvement in setting up, supporting, monitoring the new role. Interviews highlighted multiple ways which the pilot improved student mental well-ness: one-on-one and group counselling sessions, charting fresh pathways networks of support available to students, creating a safe space for student and staff drop-ins, among other benefits to schools and stakeholders involved in the pilot. Results also detail three challenges leaders encountered along the way: stakeholder agreement, role clarity, and the temporary design of the role. Findings underscore how school-based social workers show promise in addressing rising mental health challenges.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"97 1","pages":"607 - 632"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74374942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-14DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174153
Richard O. Welsh, Neharika Sobti
School discipline is a significant educational policy and equity issue in K-12 education in the United States due to well-documented racial inequality in students’ disciplinary outcomes and the deleterious effects of exclusionary discipline on academic and adult outcomes. The roles and approaches of school leaders in the production of racial inequality in exclusionary discipline warrant further inquiry. In this qualitative case study, we apply the theoretical lenses of politicized caring and internalized racism to 12 semi-structured interviews with Black principals and assistant principals in an urban emergent district in Southeastern U.S. to examine how Black school leaders make sense of and address racial disparities in school discipline. The findings illustrate that Black school leaders’ disciplinary perspectives and practices are complex with four major themes emerging: (a) deficit thinking and pathologization, (b) internalized racism, (c) politicized care as a disciplinary ideology and (d) politicized care in disciplinary practice. Uplifting the voices of Black school leaders reveals the pervasive nature of racism and the complex ways in which Black educators attempt to dismantle inequitable patterns. The findings highlight the need to create unique support for Black school leaders to enhance their disciplinary practices through mentorship, coaching and professional development.
{"title":"Moving from pathology to politicized care: Examining Black school leaders' perspectives on school discipline","authors":"Richard O. Welsh, Neharika Sobti","doi":"10.1177/10526846231174153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231174153","url":null,"abstract":"School discipline is a significant educational policy and equity issue in K-12 education in the United States due to well-documented racial inequality in students’ disciplinary outcomes and the deleterious effects of exclusionary discipline on academic and adult outcomes. The roles and approaches of school leaders in the production of racial inequality in exclusionary discipline warrant further inquiry. In this qualitative case study, we apply the theoretical lenses of politicized caring and internalized racism to 12 semi-structured interviews with Black principals and assistant principals in an urban emergent district in Southeastern U.S. to examine how Black school leaders make sense of and address racial disparities in school discipline. The findings illustrate that Black school leaders’ disciplinary perspectives and practices are complex with four major themes emerging: (a) deficit thinking and pathologization, (b) internalized racism, (c) politicized care as a disciplinary ideology and (d) politicized care in disciplinary practice. Uplifting the voices of Black school leaders reveals the pervasive nature of racism and the complex ways in which Black educators attempt to dismantle inequitable patterns. The findings highlight the need to create unique support for Black school leaders to enhance their disciplinary practices through mentorship, coaching and professional development.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"38 1","pages":"579 - 606"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90705720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-13DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174152
Tiffany E. Wright, Sarah Brooks
This case study examined the efforts of district and school level leaders related to the public gender transition of one high school teacher over a 2-year period. We employed Theoharis’ (2007) conceptualization of social justice education leadership to guide our analysis. This qualitative inquiry drew from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the superintendent, transgender teacher, high school principal and relevant teacher union leaders. Related documents were also collected to triangulate the data sources. Data analysis involved open coding to identify themes and significant features of participants’ actions and experiences. The findings are presented in the form of a chronological narrative about district and school leaders’ actions as one teacher underwent a public gender transition. Following this narrative, we explore three critical characteristics of the educational leaders’ actions: Collaborative communication, intentionality and anticipation, and framing. This study addresses a significant gap in the literature concerning how educational leaders might work to create safe school environments for LGBTQ educators. While the efforts made by district and school level leaders in this case represent important steps toward creating safe environments for transgender educators, additional professional development and policy making are critical actions that could build on the efforts detailed in this case.
{"title":"District and School Leaders’ Efforts Concerning the Public Gender Transition of a High School Teacher","authors":"Tiffany E. Wright, Sarah Brooks","doi":"10.1177/10526846231174152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231174152","url":null,"abstract":"This case study examined the efforts of district and school level leaders related to the public gender transition of one high school teacher over a 2-year period. We employed Theoharis’ (2007) conceptualization of social justice education leadership to guide our analysis. This qualitative inquiry drew from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the superintendent, transgender teacher, high school principal and relevant teacher union leaders. Related documents were also collected to triangulate the data sources. Data analysis involved open coding to identify themes and significant features of participants’ actions and experiences. The findings are presented in the form of a chronological narrative about district and school leaders’ actions as one teacher underwent a public gender transition. Following this narrative, we explore three critical characteristics of the educational leaders’ actions: Collaborative communication, intentionality and anticipation, and framing. This study addresses a significant gap in the literature concerning how educational leaders might work to create safe school environments for LGBTQ educators. While the efforts made by district and school level leaders in this case represent important steps toward creating safe environments for transgender educators, additional professional development and policy making are critical actions that could build on the efforts detailed in this case.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85078892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-09DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174148
Beverly J. Irby, Nahed Abdelrahman, Rafael Lara-Alecio, Fuhui Tong, Hamada Elfarargy
The COVID 19 pandemic affected individuals and institutions globally, especially schools. As schools temporarily closed, teachers and administrators worked to develop innovative solutions to the problems generated by the crisis. In this qualitative case study, we examined the impact of leadership practices and responses to the COVID 19 pandemic as perceived by the pre-service principals who were enrolled in a university principal preparation program. Forty-four pre-service principals participated in an open-ended survey to identify leadership practices during the pandemic. Pre-service principals, in the findings, identified five main practices they experienced to overcome the pandemic’s challenges: (a) distributing meals for students and their families; (b) issuing learning materials and devices; (c) coordinating online instructions; (d) assisting leadership teams; and (e) leading professional development sessions to integrate the school teams’ experiences. The research team expects that these findings could assist decision makers in creating new leadership strategies to respond to the natural crisis that society is experiencing.
{"title":"Pre-Service Principals in a Principal Preparation Program: Leadership Practices as a Response to COVID-19","authors":"Beverly J. Irby, Nahed Abdelrahman, Rafael Lara-Alecio, Fuhui Tong, Hamada Elfarargy","doi":"10.1177/10526846231174148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231174148","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID 19 pandemic affected individuals and institutions globally, especially schools. As schools temporarily closed, teachers and administrators worked to develop innovative solutions to the problems generated by the crisis. In this qualitative case study, we examined the impact of leadership practices and responses to the COVID 19 pandemic as perceived by the pre-service principals who were enrolled in a university principal preparation program. Forty-four pre-service principals participated in an open-ended survey to identify leadership practices during the pandemic. Pre-service principals, in the findings, identified five main practices they experienced to overcome the pandemic’s challenges: (a) distributing meals for students and their families; (b) issuing learning materials and devices; (c) coordinating online instructions; (d) assisting leadership teams; and (e) leading professional development sessions to integrate the school teams’ experiences. The research team expects that these findings could assist decision makers in creating new leadership strategies to respond to the natural crisis that society is experiencing.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88007580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-08DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174051
Mollie T. McQuillan, Erin K Gill, Xuejuan Gong
PK-12 leaders use gender- and sexuality-inclusivity professional development (IPD) as a tool to improve the school climate for LGBTQ+ students, but IPD programs vary widely in their scope, breadth, duration, instructional approach, and content. In this paper, we present the IPD conceptual framework, which proposes a sustained, intensive, and expansive approach to PD can influence student outcomes through changes in educators’ beliefs, attitudes, skills, and knowledge concerning gender and sexuality. Using a large, Midwestern school district as a case study, we examine characteristics of schools participating in an intensive IPD program and whether participation contributed to school disciplinary rates. Using 2018-2019 administrative and program data from the district and state department of instruction, we: 1) describe demographic and program differences between IPD and non-IPD schools, and 2) evaluate the contribution of IPD on disciplinary outcomes using OLS regression analysis controlling for selection characteristics. Our analysis reveals less racial and ethnically-diverse and better financially-resourced schools participate in the IPD program. The regression analysis suggests schools participating in IPD have lower suspension rates, assault rates, and endangering behavior rates compared to non-IPD schools. Several studies indicate supportive leaders and IPD improves school climates for LGBTQ+ students; however, quantitative descriptions of how IPD may influence student behavior remain scarce. Policymakers and educational leaders may be interested in this study’s results suggesting a decrease in disciplinary actions among schools committed to IPD with core components of the IPD framework.
{"title":"LGBTQ+-Inclusive Professional Development in Elementary Schools: Does It Matter to Schoolwide Discipline?","authors":"Mollie T. McQuillan, Erin K Gill, Xuejuan Gong","doi":"10.1177/10526846231174051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231174051","url":null,"abstract":"PK-12 leaders use gender- and sexuality-inclusivity professional development (IPD) as a tool to improve the school climate for LGBTQ+ students, but IPD programs vary widely in their scope, breadth, duration, instructional approach, and content. In this paper, we present the IPD conceptual framework, which proposes a sustained, intensive, and expansive approach to PD can influence student outcomes through changes in educators’ beliefs, attitudes, skills, and knowledge concerning gender and sexuality. Using a large, Midwestern school district as a case study, we examine characteristics of schools participating in an intensive IPD program and whether participation contributed to school disciplinary rates. Using 2018-2019 administrative and program data from the district and state department of instruction, we: 1) describe demographic and program differences between IPD and non-IPD schools, and 2) evaluate the contribution of IPD on disciplinary outcomes using OLS regression analysis controlling for selection characteristics. Our analysis reveals less racial and ethnically-diverse and better financially-resourced schools participate in the IPD program. The regression analysis suggests schools participating in IPD have lower suspension rates, assault rates, and endangering behavior rates compared to non-IPD schools. Several studies indicate supportive leaders and IPD improves school climates for LGBTQ+ students; however, quantitative descriptions of how IPD may influence student behavior remain scarce. Policymakers and educational leaders may be interested in this study’s results suggesting a decrease in disciplinary actions among schools committed to IPD with core components of the IPD framework.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"78 1","pages":"382 - 408"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80909801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-05DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174150
F. Oba, Abigail Miller, Madeleine Lamirande
This paper amplifies the voices of Black youth based on findings from a study on schooling experiences of Black youth in the Region of Waterloo, a mid-size Canadian community. Data for the qualitative study was collected using elder-facilitated youth dialogue (adaptation of focus group and Afrocentric sharing circles) and in-depth individual interviews. The findings show that the Black youth participants did not feel their lives matter in the eduational system due to discrimination, alienation, non-inclusive curriculum, absence of Black teachers and failure of school leadership to address systemic racism. Framed by Afrocentric and critical race theories, these findings enabled recommendations on how teachers can take leadership for supporting Black learners by recognizing and mitigating the effects of anti-Black-racism through culturally responsive teaching, emancipatory pedagogy, and politicized caring. The study contributes to an understanding of the need for equitable outcomes, intentional inclusion, and culturally responsive pedagogy that celebrates identity of Black students and enhances their sense of belonging.
{"title":"School Leadership Waterloo Region Must Show Black Youth Their Lives Matter","authors":"F. Oba, Abigail Miller, Madeleine Lamirande","doi":"10.1177/10526846231174150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231174150","url":null,"abstract":"This paper amplifies the voices of Black youth based on findings from a study on schooling experiences of Black youth in the Region of Waterloo, a mid-size Canadian community. Data for the qualitative study was collected using elder-facilitated youth dialogue (adaptation of focus group and Afrocentric sharing circles) and in-depth individual interviews. The findings show that the Black youth participants did not feel their lives matter in the eduational system due to discrimination, alienation, non-inclusive curriculum, absence of Black teachers and failure of school leadership to address systemic racism. Framed by Afrocentric and critical race theories, these findings enabled recommendations on how teachers can take leadership for supporting Black learners by recognizing and mitigating the effects of anti-Black-racism through culturally responsive teaching, emancipatory pedagogy, and politicized caring. The study contributes to an understanding of the need for equitable outcomes, intentional inclusion, and culturally responsive pedagogy that celebrates identity of Black students and enhances their sense of belonging.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81540086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-05DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174151
Michael G. Gunzenhauser, Osly J. Flores, Michael W. Quigley
Background -- Limited work has been done to integrate ethical leadership and anti-racist school leadership practice. Through narrative ethics, this paper links caring with race-consciousness to form a foundation for critical praxis. Purpose -- The authors address the limitations of caring leadership by arguing for a race-conscious narrative ethics that promotes communal responsibility for students, with specific attention to racialized and marginalized students. Research Design – This conceptual paper draws on caring theory, feminism, womanism, and culturally responsive leadership. The paper considers racism within a United States context, drawing from theory developed in additional contexts. Analysis – The paper builds from the limitations of caring theory and seeks alternative caring ethics from critiques and African-American historical struggles for sustainable and anti-racist praxis. Results -- The authors argue that predispositions toward caring among teachers and school leaders are insufficient for the project of anti-racist education because of uncritical assumptions of sameness, misplaced empathy, and the evasion of race and racism. The resulting impersonal caring reproduces racist power relations and reinforces standardized and competitive notions of responsibility for children, forestalling opportunities for collective action. Conclusions -- As an alternative to impersonal caring, the authors explore the possibilities of deepening leaders’ engagement in race-conscious caring through the significance of experience, the quality of caring relations, and the value of narrative ethics. A key implication is that race-conscious caring is necessary but insufficient for the work of anti-racism unless it informs changed practices, structures, and systems.
{"title":"Race-Conscious Caring for Anti-racist Leadership: A Narrative Ethics for Cultivating Communal Responsibility","authors":"Michael G. Gunzenhauser, Osly J. Flores, Michael W. Quigley","doi":"10.1177/10526846231174151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231174151","url":null,"abstract":"Background -- Limited work has been done to integrate ethical leadership and anti-racist school leadership practice. Through narrative ethics, this paper links caring with race-consciousness to form a foundation for critical praxis. Purpose -- The authors address the limitations of caring leadership by arguing for a race-conscious narrative ethics that promotes communal responsibility for students, with specific attention to racialized and marginalized students. Research Design – This conceptual paper draws on caring theory, feminism, womanism, and culturally responsive leadership. The paper considers racism within a United States context, drawing from theory developed in additional contexts. Analysis – The paper builds from the limitations of caring theory and seeks alternative caring ethics from critiques and African-American historical struggles for sustainable and anti-racist praxis. Results -- The authors argue that predispositions toward caring among teachers and school leaders are insufficient for the project of anti-racist education because of uncritical assumptions of sameness, misplaced empathy, and the evasion of race and racism. The resulting impersonal caring reproduces racist power relations and reinforces standardized and competitive notions of responsibility for children, forestalling opportunities for collective action. Conclusions -- As an alternative to impersonal caring, the authors explore the possibilities of deepening leaders’ engagement in race-conscious caring through the significance of experience, the quality of caring relations, and the value of narrative ethics. A key implication is that race-conscious caring is necessary but insufficient for the work of anti-racism unless it informs changed practices, structures, and systems.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85182332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174149
Corrie Stone-Johnson, L. Hubbard, Barbara Resultan, Kate Steilen
Crisis events external to schools can present challenges for teaching and learning, and the ways that school leaders respond to these challenges both immediately and over time can have implications that extend beyond the crisis itself. Drawing on responsible leadership theory (Maak, 2007; Maak & Pless, 2006; Pless, 2007; Pless & Maak, 2011), our qualitative interview study with 26 elementary school principals in 14 states explores how school leaders facilitate learning in a time of crisis. We find that leaders who built and sustained relationships both within their immediate community of stakeholders and beyond with the local district and networks of principal peers ultimately addressed the immediate needs of students as well as created the conditions to support these needs over time. These positive changes impacted all students, but specifically benefitted the schools’ most vulnerable learners, including students receiving special education and English language service. These findings draw attention to the importance of understanding the role that responsible leadership plays in school crisis leadership, specifically the necessity of weaving and brokering relationships that help leaders achieve not only their school-level goals but societal goals, including more equitable learning outcomes, while highlighting the implications of what we identify as role expansion for school leaders.
{"title":"Responsible School Leadership: Exploring Role Expansion in Crisis and Beyond","authors":"Corrie Stone-Johnson, L. Hubbard, Barbara Resultan, Kate Steilen","doi":"10.1177/10526846231174149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10526846231174149","url":null,"abstract":"Crisis events external to schools can present challenges for teaching and learning, and the ways that school leaders respond to these challenges both immediately and over time can have implications that extend beyond the crisis itself. Drawing on responsible leadership theory (Maak, 2007; Maak & Pless, 2006; Pless, 2007; Pless & Maak, 2011), our qualitative interview study with 26 elementary school principals in 14 states explores how school leaders facilitate learning in a time of crisis. We find that leaders who built and sustained relationships both within their immediate community of stakeholders and beyond with the local district and networks of principal peers ultimately addressed the immediate needs of students as well as created the conditions to support these needs over time. These positive changes impacted all students, but specifically benefitted the schools’ most vulnerable learners, including students receiving special education and English language service. These findings draw attention to the importance of understanding the role that responsible leadership plays in school crisis leadership, specifically the necessity of weaving and brokering relationships that help leaders achieve not only their school-level goals but societal goals, including more equitable learning outcomes, while highlighting the implications of what we identify as role expansion for school leaders.","PeriodicalId":92928,"journal":{"name":"Journal of school leadership","volume":"77 1","pages":"472 - 490"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89536673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-03DOI: 10.1177/10526846231174147
Stephanie Herzig Johnson
Inclusive education continues to be a highly discussed topic in schools. While most teachers and administrators are supportive of inclusive education, teachers are experiencing challenges that are impacting its success. This research approaches the study of inclusive education implementation from the perspective of the teacher. Using Bandura’s self-efficacy model as a theoretical framework, this research is grounded in the premise that teacher self-efficacy is a critical indicator of teacher effectiveness and the success rate of change initiatives. I used a microethnographic discourse analysis approach to study five second grade classroom and special education teachers as they implemented the inclusive education model in their classrooms. Data collection included a questionnaire, teacher interviews and observations of teachers’ collaborative interactions at professional learning community meetings. The findings indicate that three elements, tied to teachers’ levels of self-efficacy, impact inclusion success: Teachers’ experiences, both personal and vicarious; their perceived administrative support; and their levels of stress. The results of this study have implications for school administrators as they design professional development opportunities to support teachers in the implementation of inclusive education initiatives.
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