Black Masculine Caring in Educational Leadership: Introducing a Masculine-Centered Framework

• In Event: Black Mask-ulinity: An Emerging Framework for Black Masculine Caring

Abstract

This study addresses the leadership of African-American male leaders and their operationalization of the ethic of care in their practice. In the study, I analyze the educational leadership of African-American men through an ethic of care lens because, despite the fact that research indicates that caring practices are effective in raising levels of achievement in African-American and other disenfranchised populations (Delpit, 2006; Noddings, 1984; Siddle-Walker& Snarey, 2004), scant research has been done to interrogate caring styles from various perspectives. Data for this study was collected from African-American male administrators in a large urban district in the Midwest. Themes that emerged from this study indicate that African-American males are often caring leaders, despite their monolithic “tough man” image. Thus, I develop a masculine-centered framework to align with the perceptions of African-American male participants in my study, and introduce the concept of Black masculine caring using a grounded theory approach to facilitate analysis and discussion.Study sample and data collection
The study sample for this multi-case, exploratory analysis was comprised of five African-American male school administrators working in the capacity of assistant principals or principals of middle schools and high schools. Notably, 1of the 5 leaders served at the district-level in the position of Associate Superintendent.
Data were collected from email questionnaires, a focus group, and follow-up telephone calls for clarification as needed. The core foundational principles of Black masculine caring include a framework that acknowledges Black men have the capacity to care, and often care deeply; Black men’s capacity to care is dependent upon one’s prior experience; caring is often demonstrated by Black men as much as others; the caring exhibited by Black men is influenced by culture; and caring demonstrated by Black men is often misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Author

• Lisa Bass, North Carolina State University