Toward a Theory of Sympathetic Leadership: Asian American School Administrators' Expectations for Equity and Social Justice

• In Event: 45.069 - Acknowledging the Emotional Work of Social Justice Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to illuminate the perspectives and leadership practices of four Asian American school administrators in urban schools. Drawing on the framework of sympathetic leadership, the study demonstrated how Asian American school administrators defined social justice through the following practices to underpin their expectations with the school community: develop intimate knowledge of students and their racialized history, enact sympathy as a condition of political solidarity to facilitate caring relationships building on students’ community cultural wealth, contacts based on equity and political empowerment to counteract the legacies and realities of racism, and prepare students for a more equitable future through academic rigor and positive expectations.

Authors

• Daniel D Liou, Arizona State University

• Jia Grace Liang, Kansas State University