‘Deep understanding’ for anti‐racist school transformation: School leaders' professional development in the context of Black Lives Matter

Abstract

In June 2020, the world witnessed an upsurge in Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd, an African American, by a White American police officer. The international response called for the global community to reassess the value of black lives blighted by racist social systems. The mass sentiment acted as a catalyst for educational institutions, including those in the UK, to mount a response. It is in this context that a School Partnership Group representing primary and secondary schools in East London embarked on developing a workshop series for the professional development of school leaders. The sessions were aimed at school transformation through anti-racist educational approaches. In this article, we present a discussion of the workshop series held in the academic year 2020-2021, which brought school leaders together in a reflective community of practice. Drawing on data from focus group conversations carried out following the end of the series, this paper argues for school leaders' professional development that prioritises 'deep understanding' supported by reflective communities of practice as a pre-requisite for effective anti-racist practice and sustained school transformation.

School leaders leading anti-racism and inclusion: Evidence from schools in England

“…Notwithstanding, the evidence from the case study schools and leaders shows a reconceptualising of stakeholders’ identities, from passive to active, from on the fence to in the centre, from wanting transformation to seeking or pursuing transformation and being enabled and allowed to do so. Put differently, the evidence points to deep level re-culturing of entire school communities both as a response to, and in seeking to dismantle systemic structures of oppression, a point elaborated by Walker et al (2022) who noted, ‘achieving anti-racist school environments requires time and opportunity for school leaders to gain a ‘deep understanding’ of issues supported by a reflective community of practice’ (p. 14).…”