Disrupting “Deficit” Myths About Urban School Learners: African American Female Principals’ Leadership Discourses

• In Event: Transformative Leadership on the Front Lines: In Pursuit of Excellence and Equity for All Students

Abstract

Given the increasing demographic changes of today’s schools, African American females are filling the leadership pipeline to lead in large urban schools where equity issues loom large (Sperandio & LaPier, 2009). Although it can be daunting (Bloom and Erlandson, 2003), many embrace the challenge and pursue urban school settings because of their beliefs to make a difference and serve as advocates for marginalized children (Loder, 2005; Sernak, 2004). While the existing body of literature on urban school leadership reveals the commitments many African American female make to serve students in urban communities, perspectives on novice African-American females are limited (Loder, 2005; Peters, 2008; Sperandio & LaPier, 2009). To overlay the experiences of African American female principals, Afrocentric epistemology (Collins, 2000) and transformative leadership (Shields, 2011) serve as the theoretical framework for this study. Both Afrocentric epistemology and transformative leadership provide dual lenses that are necessary to understand the gendered and racial experiences of African American females while they simultaneously champion the cause for educational access and equity to improve the lives of all learners.

In this qualitative study, a case study design with principles from dialogical approach (Isaacs, 1993) are combined to probe deeper and broader into the experiences of two novice African American females in leading teachers and advocating to district leaders a focus on students’ strengths and abilities to disrupt deficits beliefs and practices evident in day-to-day practices. Since both participants have similar characteristics (i.e., born, raised, attended same undergraduate college, live and work in the neighboring community of their schools, highly visible novice principals, etc.), the dialogical approach (e.g., group interviews) provided them an opportunity to reflect and share their experiences with one another during data collection. Data collection which included one-on-one interviews, group interviews, field notes, school visits and artifacts occurred over a year and half and began at the end of both participants’ second year as principals. Three major findings emerged from the study: (1) responding to the vocational calling to lead and transcend barriers for underserved children and families, (2) challenging teachers, district leaders, and parents’ unspoken and spoken beliefs about African American students (i.e., sense of hopelessness), and (3) modeling and advocating transformative leadership to support and value all learners in reaching their full potential. Within these major themes, several sub-themes are examined.

Author

• Gaetane Jean-Marie, University of Louisville