Exploring Multiple Contexts and Shared Perspectives of Leadership Educators

Abstract

Through short narratives, this chapter explores how personal factors, environmental factors, and significant life choices have shaped the teaching and scholarly perspectives of four collegiate leadership educators in the United States and invites others to reflect on how their purpose and impact in leadership education have been similarly shaped.

“Being heard”: pedagogical strategies that support BIPOC students in postsecondary leadership courses

“…We see that BIPOC students appreciate many of Jenkins' (2012) signature pedagogies of leadership education. In addition, we conducted this study, in part, to investigate recommendations that leadership educators further adapt pedagogical choices, leadership concepts and processes to students from different identities (GuramatunhuCooper et al, 2019), combat White supremacy in the field (Davis, 2021), value people of color as leaders (Irwin, 2021) and create an environment in which BIPOC students use the term "leader" to describe themselves (Arminio et al, 2000). These scholars all indicated the need for leadership educators to intentionally engage in culturally sustaining pedagogies.…”

“…Racially minoritized students are more interested in leadership, in particular for social change, compared to their White counterparts (Oaks, Duckett, Suddeth, & Kennedy-Phillips, 2013); however, 85% of leadership educators are White (Jenkins & Owen, 2016) and may have trouble adapting their pedagogical choices, leadership concepts and leadership processes to students from different identities (GuramatunhuCooper, McElravy, Hall, & Harvey, 2019). This leads to the continued devaluation of people of color as leaders (Irwin, 2021), furthers manifestations of White privilege in the field (Davis, 2021) and creates an environment in which students of color do not use the term "leader" to describe themselves (Arminio et al, 2000).…”

“…Literature review BIPOC conceptions of leadership Traditional leadership theories and approaches have operated with color-blind and genderblind assumptions that hide the impact of race and gender on who can be seen as legitimate in leadership and thus narrowly defined leadership as White (GuramatunhuCooper et al, 2019;Kezar et al, 2006;Ospina & Foldy, 2009;Wilder, 2014). For example, measures such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and CliftonStrengths are particularly flawed and unreliable for BIPOC students as these measures do not address identity and power and lack internal reliability when used with BIPOC students (Dugan & Leonette, 2021).…”

Critical and transformative approaches in leadership evaluation and research

“…Further, higher education is the location of many leadership education programs where whiteness and leadership have become synonymous (Wilder, 2014 ) and People of Color are devalued in leadership (Irwin, 2021 ). As a result of this, the leadership theories, and paradigms we teach are often rooted in dominant norms that emphasize and privilege a narrow view of leading, one that is white and male (Guramatunhu Cooper, et al., 2019 ).…”

Student Affairs Leadership Educators’ Negotiations of Racialized Legitimacy

“…This inattention to whiteness is especially concerning given Liu and Baker's (2016) claim that "'doing leadership' is inextricably linked to 'doing whiteness'" (p. 420). Practices and conceptions of leadership are often uncritically rooted in dominant -white and masculine -norms that privilege narrow ways of being and leading (GuramatunhuCooper et al, 2019). Ignoring whiteness in leadership theory and practice provides an incomplete understanding of leadership's racialized nature, as " [t]raditional leadership theory has tended to operate with color-blind or genderblind assumptions...…”