(Re)Evaluating the Triangle: Culturally Relevant Leadership in Bermuda

• In Event: Culturally Responsive School Leadership: Empirical Research and Theoretical Advances

Abstract

There is a conspicuous divide between public and private education in Bermuda forged from historical divisions in race, class, and culture. Although Black people in Bermuda account for 54% of the population, Black children make up over 90% of the school population in a public school system that has been heavily scrutinized (Bermuda Department of Statistics 2010 Census of Population and Housing, 2010). These dynamics have associated and overt theoretical connections that impact the work of Bermudian educational leaders, including deficit-based beliefs about the abilities of students, parents and educators in public schools; color/culture/country blindness in course material and assessments; divergent school reputations; and inequitable access to resources (Iverson, 2007; Villenas & Deyhle, 1999). Drawing on postcolonial theory (Bhahba, 1994; Said, 1995) and Horsford, Grosland, & Gunn’s (2011) notion of “Culturally Relevant Leadership,” this paper highlights the ideological approaches, identities, and leadership practices of 12 Bermudian educational leaders. The author presents findings from principals and community-based leaders who daily navigate the Bermuda triangle of culture, space, and identity created by Bermuda’s unique geopolitical positionality: notably, Bermuda is a 21 square mile island in the Atlantic Ocean and a dependent territory of England with strong cultural, political, and social ties to the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. The author utilizes the four dimensions of Horsford, Grosland, & Gunn’s (2011) framework for culturally relevant leadership—political context, pedagogical approach, personal journey, and professional duty—to inform the implications offered for practice, preparation, and policies in the leadership of Black students in Bermuda and, by extension, Black students across the African Diaspora.

Author

• Ty-Ron M.O. Douglas, University of Missouri - Columbia