Suburbia's Shifting Landscape: Educational Leadership in Demographic Transformation

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership in Transition: Navigating Context, Community Engagement, and Equity Challenges

Abstract

This systematic literature review addresses the undertheorized field of suburban school leadership. We analyzed 36 peer-reviewed articles from 2015 to 2025 to explore the current research landscape and the challenges faced by leaders in diversifying suburban communities. Our review found a predominance of case studies and identified three key emergent themes, all nested within the context of racial diversification: local political implications, workforce development, and instructional responses. The findings suggest that leadership challenges in suburbia are distinct from those in urban or rural settings, underscoring the critical need for a context-specific conceptual framework to effectively support all students.

Authors

• Davis Clement, Eastern Michigan University

• Margaret Thornton, Rowan University