District Instructional Leaders Unpacking White Supremacy in Science and (Re)Considering Their Roles as Disruptors

• In Event: Confronting Whiteness and Promoting Antiracism

Abstract

In this critical qualitative study I examined four district instructional leaders’ (un)learning during a year-long professional development (PD) series designed to support participants to recognize antiracist and anticolonial approaches to science instruction. Each leader expanded their conceptions of what counted as science. However, leaders took different approaches to applying their (un)learning to their roles as district leaders. Better understanding district leaders’ instructional leadership as they commit to support antiracist instructional practices will help us understand what types of coaching and professional development are needed to support them as they work with teachers and school leaders. Furthermore, this study builds on the nascent literature at the intersection of critical and instructional leadership.

Author

• Sarah Clancey, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction