Reimagining Leadership: When Critical Leadership Praxis Reunites with Ethnic Studies Pedagogy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: The Critical Role of Ethnic Studies in Educational Leadership

Abstract

Objectives & Research Questions:
This study investigates how the convergence of Critical Leadership Praxis (CLP) and Ethnic Studies pedagogy strengthens professional learning for educational leaders and contributes to justice-oriented leadership. Three guiding questions drive the inquiry:
How does CLP nurture leaders’ self-awareness, cultural rootedness, critical consciousness, and community responsiveness?
In what ways does Ethnic Studies pedagogy provide the relational and methodological tools for transformative leadership?
How can the “reunion” of CLP and Ethnic Studies pedagogy reimagine professional learning to be more meaningful, community-grounded, and action-based?

Theory
Grounded in Freire’s critical pedagogy (1970/2002) and transformative leadership theories (Weiner, 2003), this study builds on the theory and practice of CLP as developed by Tintiangco‑Cubales and Daus‑Magbual (2016). CLP reconceptualizes leadership as an iterative process rooted in two core relational strands: relationship to self and relationship to community. Ethnic Studies pedagogy complements this by centering power, purpose, context, content, and methods to support collective healing, critical action, and cultural rootedness (Tintiangco‑Cubales et al., 2015; Beckham & Concordia, 2019).

Methods/Sources
This qualitative inquiry draws from a synthesis of research and praxis from Ethnic Studies-centered programs, including Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP), San Francisco Unified School District’s Ethnic Studies initiative, Jefferson Union High School District’s Ethnic Studies leadership development and reflective leadership development literature. The study reviews educational leadership scholarship and framework analyses (Daus-Magbual, 2023; Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2015), emphasizing narrative, community-centered approaches to leadership learning.

Findings
The research suggests that CLP cultivates leaders who are critically self-aware, culturally rooted, and collectively engaged. When reunited with Ethnic Studies pedagogy—its originating pedagogical home—CLP becomes a powerful vehicle for professional learning that transcends technical training. It centers healing, cultural humility, and justice as leadership competencies (Daus-Magbual, 2023). Ethnic Studies pedagogy provides the methods—such as oral histories, participatory research, and critical community dialogue—that breathe life into the values of CLP (Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2015; Beckham & Concordia, 2019).

Significance
This work aligns directly with AERA 2026’s theme—“Unforgetting Histories and Imagining Futures: Constructing a New Vision for Education Research”—by illuminating how a leadership paradigm rooted in Ethnic Studies pedagogy can empower leaders to recall erased histories and build more equitable futures. The project shows that when CLP reconnects with its pedagogical roots, professional learning becomes deeply meaningful: it promotes critical consciousness, healing, and collective hope. This integrated model not only prepares leaders to navigate contemporary educational challenges but equips them to thrive as co-creators of just and liberatory futures. By centering historical knowledge, cultural wisdom, and community-driven action, this proposal offers a visionary approach to leadership development that resonates with AERA’s call for intergenerational, interdisciplinary, and equity‑driven research.

Authors

• Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, San Francisco State University

• Arlene S. Daus-Magbual, San Francisco State University