Tone-Setters-in-Chief: The Vital Role of Principals in the Recruitment, Support, and Retention of Social Justice Teacher-Activists

• In Event: 43.077 - MTCC Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: 43.077-10 - Social Justice Leadership, Leaders, and Disrupting Power

Abstract

In a longitudinal study of the preparation, support, and retention of social justice teacher-activists, two cohorts of anti-oppressive, culturally sustaining teachers were selected from urban centers on the east coast. Teachers were interviewed at the outset and finale of each academic year, observed in their classrooms, and will be followed for 5 years to examine how the best, most critically conscious teachers are prepared and supported in schools, and how they make decisions about their teaching careers from year to year. Initial findings reveal that one of the most salient factors in whether the most effective, social justice-minded teachers leave or remain in the profession is having one of three types of relationships with their principals: supportive/accompliceship, neutral/non-helping/non-hindering, or unsupportive/contentious.

Author

• Taharee A. Jackson, University of Maryland - College Park