Latina/o Educational Leadership: Testimonios From the Field

• In Event: 42.070 - Defining Latino Educational Leadership: Guiding the Field to Serve Latino Communities and Prepare Latinx Leaders

Abstract

If we are serious about addressing the needs and strengths represented by the increased presence of Latina/o students, these aspirations must be cultivated—and realized—through the engagement of educational leaders who are committed activists for social change (Guajardo, 2009; Méndez-Morse, Murakami, Byrne Jiménez, & Hernandez, 2015; Rodríguez, Martinez, & Valle, 2015) that recognize the community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) that is already present in the communities they serve. The works represented here for the upcoming special issue in the Association of Mexican American Educators Journal pose the question, what is Latina/o educational leadership and how is it enacted to challenge the narrow parameters of what is considered educational leadership? Prospective contributors placed notions of Latina/o educational leadership within the context of the sociohistorical conditions that have shaped institutions of education (Berta-Avila, Tijerina Revilla, & López Figueroa, 2011; Guajardo & Guajardo, 2004) and as a result, societal inequities and institutionalized oppression (López & Burciaga, 2014). Educational efforts to address inequities have increasingly manifested as top-down directives aimed at reductive accountability objectives, thus increasing the power and visibility of certain positional leaders (and profiles of leadership) as the schools’ primary change agents. Given the breaks in the educational pipeline for Latina/os, we see urgency in showcasing scholarship that interrogates the leadership gaps that seem to persist in schooling systems within Latina/o communities (Guajardo, Guajardo, Oliver, & Keawe, 2012). How, then, do we (re)envision educational leadership approaches that are respectful and responsive to Latina/o communities? Central to critical educational research on Latina/o schooling is a discussion of the community cultural wealth of students (Yosso, 2005), teachers, and administrative leaders.
For this special issue the authors were particularly interested in understanding how these forms of community cultural wealth are enacted in educational settings through one’s leadership practice to broaden the field of educational leadership, and to further reflect resistance practices among educational leaders including but not limited to administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Moreover, these works are interdisciplinary and engage with the complexity of these dynamics and the nuances in the broader field. There was an additional emphasis on works that utilize testimonio (Cruz, 2012; Delgado Bernal, Burciaga, & Flores Carmona, 2012; The Latina Feminist Group, 2001; Prieto & Villenas, 2012). The genre of testimonio, rooted in Latin American human rights struggles, privileges experiences that are often silenced through mainstream approaches to schooling. It is through this lens that a growing number of educators are disrupting silence, exposing injustice, and building solidarity in often restrictive and dehumanizing contexts within which Latina/o educational leadership must be carried out. Submissions suitable for publication in this special issue include personal narratives, theoretical/conceptual papers, essays, and poetry. Central to the use of testimonio is the writer’s attention to issues of privilege, positionality, and role in advocating for social justice.

Authors

• Rebeca Burciaga, San José State University

• Gloria M. Rodriguez, University of California - Davis