A Missing Partner: Learning From Youth Activists of Color to Cultivate Justice-Driven Educational Leadership

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Leading for Social Justice With Students, Parents, and Communities

Abstract

We draw from a case study of youth activists of color attending under-resourced, urban schools to emphasize the educative value of their epistemologies, ideologies, and praxis. We suggest how learning from their insights and activism can boost adult educational leaders’ critical consciousness and improve their practice. Third, we pinpoint opportunities school and district leaders have to ally with youth activists, help broker their social capital, and yet alleviate youths’ labor and risks. We conclude by recommending ways youth-informed inquiry can help adult leaders advance their transformative goals in schools and counter youths’ systemic educational neglect. Our suggested approach blends effective practices from inclusive school-family-community partnership models, school equity audits, and the listening campaign tactics of youth activists.

Authors

• Camille M. Wilson, University of Michigan

• Naomi Mae W., The Spencer Foundation

• Jeremy D. Horne, University of Texas at Austin