African Americans and School Leadership: An Introduction

Abstract

Elementary and secondary education is constantly discussed by the public media and scholars as the best medicine to help America compete effectively in the latest version of economic globalization. This article examines public education in an open political system involving racial, cultural, and ethnically diverse society and argues that such a diverse education should be reflected among school leaders. The author concludes that given this diversity, many African Americans live in single-race communities and attend single-race schools; we need to broaden our theory of leadership to include the views of African American scholars and practitioners and improve leadership preparation programs. The setting for this shift in educational paradigms is more imperative given the ending of the desegregation era. Much of the information can be applied to other racial and ethnic groups but is aimed specifically at African Americans.

Centering Race in a Framework for Leadership Preparation

“…She also noted that department discourse was constrained in a manner similar to that found in our public schools. Scholars have also looked specifically at how race is still relevant to educational leadership (F. Brown, 2005;Dantley, 2005;Tillman, 2005). L. Foster and Tillman (2009) published work on African American perspectives, providing a powerful example of UCEA-supported research that seeks to improve preparation.…”

Leading through the challenge of change: African-American women principals on small school reform

“…Often leaders of such schools are selected because they appear to be similar (racially) to the student population (Brown 2005;Reed and Evans 2008). In addition, it is assumed that these leaders possess a level of understanding of the issues that plague students who are racially similar (Foster 2005;Gooden 2005).…”

Teacher Expectations and Principal Behavior: Responding to Teacher Acquiescence

“…Brown (2005) states: ''The notion that school administration is neutral in application for educating children of all races and ethnicities fails to consider disparities in political power between racial groups'' (p. 587). In addition to the deeply-rooted power relationship present in schools, Brown's research illustrates that school leadership requires differentiated leadership perspectives that would suit diverse student identities.…”

“…The contextual nature of leadership has been neglected from the dialogue but is so crucial to understanding leadership and Black students. This is apparent even in the training programs that prepare educational leaders because, as Brown (2005) points out, principal-training programs frequently ignore race and racialized contexts. Teachers' expectations, and a school leader's response, may have a different meaning for each racial, cultural and ethnic group.…”