Black Women as Instructional Leaders: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

• In Event: Principals as Instructional and Community Leaders: Embracing Multiple Ways of Knowing

Abstract

. Our aim in this paper is to highlight the efficacy of Black women in their roles as instructional leaders First, Black Feminism is used as a lens to trouble traditional scholarship on instructional leadership. Then, we explore extant literature on historical and contemporary Black women school leaders. Next, we employ BFT’s tenets of the use of dialogue and the ethic of care to hear and listen to the voices of Black women principals as they share their experiences as instructional supervisors. Finally, based on this discussion and BFT’s tenet of personal accountability, we proffer recommendations to inform the praxis of instructional leadership and to improve the academic success of Black students in particular.

Authors

• Terri N. Watson, City College of New York - CUNY

• Linda C. Tillman, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill