Leadership as Destabilizing Normalcy, Unveiling Acceptable Logics, and Fostering Educational Belonging

• In Event: Teacher and School Leaders Building Culture, Belonging, and Inclusion for Students

Abstract

This paper challenges the ableist assumption that classrooms belong to “normal” students and critiques the logics supporting disability classifications. It identifies leadership practices that reinforce the exclusion of “abnormal” students from regular settings or require their assimilation to become more “normal.” This unfairly places the burden on students to conform, often resulting in racially disproportionate discipline and classifications that benefit white students. The paper argues that ableism is intertwined with racism and rooted in Western notions of normality, absent in non-Western epistemologies. It highlights traces of eugenics in current educational practices and calls for disrupting ableist norms to foster true educational belonging and equity, promoting inclusive leadership and systemic change.

Authors

• Joshua Bornstein, Fairleigh Dickinson University

• William R. Black, University of South Florida