Black Leaders' Identification of Stressors and Self-Care Survival Practices: Lessons for Districts

• In Event: Life of a Leader: Race, Gender, and Alternate Perspectives

Abstract

Principals’ average tenure length in a position is four years with 11 percent identifying as Black (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). This tenure length and percent of Black leaders problematizes the necessity to find new ways to support Black principals. To date, no empirical studies examine self-care strategies of leaders for equity. Nor do any studies address self-care strategies of Black leaders for equity. Given this gap in the literature, two questions anchor this study of 15 Black leaders: In Black leaders committed to equity (1)What stressors do they identify? (2) How do they equity practice self-care?

Author

• Heather L. Dunham-Roth, University of Louisiana at Lafayette