Examining the Rural Principalship as a Black Man via Autoethnography

• In Event: Explorations of Identity and Belonging

Abstract

Research that examines Black principals' experiences beyond an urban school context is limited. In response to this absence of scholarship, this autoethnographic research study served three purposes: (a) to understand my experiences as a rural principal in a predominantly white school, (b) to understand how those experiences informed my leadership practices and self-view, and (c) to explore how autoethnography is used to examine leadership practices in educational settings. Through personal vignettes, I provide a glimpse into and an examination of pivotal moments of how I experienced rural principalship. From this (re)examination, I illuminate how those experiences created a template for my work as a principal beyond a rural context and discuss how autoethnography could be used to improve educational leadership.

Author

• Jamon H. Flowers, University of Georgia