Does Knowing Better Mean Doing Better? Instructional Leaders Supporting Black Girls in the Context of Neoliberal Science Education

• In Event: The Sociopolitical Context of Neoliberal Education Policy and Implications for Black Girls and Novice Principals

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how neoliberal reasoning is implicated in creating and reinforcing marginalizing policies and practices impacting science access, participation, and achievement for Black girls in K-12 public education. By situating science education in a neoliberal context, extant literature and study findings indicate that neoliberal ideals construct science education by dictating how instructional leaders leverage standardized curriculum, standardized test scores, and exclusionary competitive placement practices to determine access to advanced courses in science and mathematics. This paper proposes to explore aspects of STEM education by prioritizing the perspectives and experiences of Black girls and applying those experiences as lens through which to evaluate K-12 STEM education policy and practice carried out by individuals identified as instructional leaders in schools. This purpose is fulfilled by exploring how school administrators articulate principles of instructional leadership to facilitate access and successful participation for Black female students in Advanced Placement (AP) mathematics and science courses that represent college preparatory and career trajectories in the STEM field (Carter, 2016; Kyburg, Hertberg-Davis & Callahan, 2007; Sharma, 2016). The perspectives and practices of these instructional leaders will be analyzed through the lens of Black Feminist perspective as intellectualized by Black girls enrolled in Advanced Placement STEM courses.
Theoretical Framework
In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, I utilize Black feminist instructional leadership. A theoretical framework informed by conceptualizing pedagogical foundations of Instructional Leadership Theory and critical keystones of Black Feminist Thought to examine practices and processes utilized by school leaders in order to manage instructional programing (Hallinger, 2005) while simultaneously deploying enduring understandings that explicitly value Black women’s ways of knowing at the intersection of race and gender within our existing socio-political context (Collins, 2009).
Methods and Data Sources
A holistic case study is utilized to explore school policies and practices, leadership profiles and practices, and student experiences and perspectives (Ballenger, Polnick &Irby, 2017). The site for this study is a large urban school district under a federal desegregation order to adopt to increase academic achievement for African American and Latinx students. This study includes an Open-ended, semi-formal interview protocol.
Substantiated Conclusions
Preliminary findings indicate that school administrators rely heavily on predetermined College Board AP curricular and instructional practices. Standardized test data and teacher recommendation drive student selection and encouragement to participate in AP courses where student “fitness” for AP course work is associated with a proven history of successfully navigating traditional classroom norms, values, and expectations. Such methods fail to implement practices that foster the development of unique academic identities of Black Girls in science and mathematics. This failure creates tension with administrators, teachers, and peers for students.
Scholarly Significance
Deeper understanding of neoliberalism’s role in shaping school policy sheds light on its further implications in isolation and erasure of Back girls in educational spaces. Understanding provides a foundation for addressing and eliminating dissonance between schools and young Black girls in STEM that perpetuates underrepresentation and the greater issue of invisibility of Black girls in K-12 STEM education.

Author

• Tamela Ciara Thomas, Kennesaw State University