A Decolonial Approach to Educational Leadership: Possibilities and Contestations

• In Event: Interrogating Research in Educational Leadership: Co-Constructing Methodologies for Equity

Abstract

Educational Leadership historically as a field of study has been informed by Western epistemological frameworks, grounded, and framed through Eurocentric ways of knowing. The field in the early stages of formation was dominated by white men who conducted research within predominantly white contexts, excluded knowledge from the global south and ignored the colonial structures, policies and practices that continue to be perpetuated in education and schooling. The field of educational leadership remains predominantly heteronormative, nonspiritual, middle-class, white, and masculine which produces hegemonic epistemologies (Fitzgerald, 2006) which has led to troubling deficiencies in the field that have persisted.
We know from research that leadership is important in the educational outcomes and achievements of students. Given this, critical scholars have called for a shift in leadership practice and theorizing, the naming of coloniality and colonialism, the impact on the field of educational leadership, and the need for alternative leadership epistemologies grounded in research and knowledge from areas that were excluded from the field. In other words, decentre Eurocentricity and centre the knowledge and experiences of those who have been rendered on the margins. This presentation, drawing on research conducted with school leaders in Kenya, Jamaica, Ghana, and Zambia offers a framework of decolonial educational leadership praxis. As Battise (2008) argues, attempts to decolonize education, and actively resist colonial paradigms is a complex and daunting task. Coloniality and its long-standing patterns of control of power and knowledge persists because of colonialism and continue to define leadership practices and policies in education and schooling. Using a qualitative methodological approach, undergirded by decolonial/decolonizing theorizing, and drawing on data and research findings from contexts from the global south and emerging economies, this presentation offers a framework for decolonial educational leadership, not as a panacea but as an alternative approach. As Garcia and Natividad (2018) argue a decolonized model of leadership practice asks: Who has the authority and decision-making power to promote and enact decolonial education grounded in equity, justice, and liberation for all? Leaders must therefore ask: What does equity, justice and liberation looks like for all students? How do educational leaders engaging in decolonial praxis navigate current complexities of education and schooling? Drawing on the data the following framework is offered as an entry point a) critical self-reflexivity; b) naming and understanding coloniality and impact of colonialism on education systems; c) building authentic relationships with communities; d) disrupting neoliberalism; and e) collaboratively building a path to sustain the work. As (Abdi, 2012) suggests, decolonizing praxis, pedagogies, and ways of knowing is about reclaiming of geographies and spaces of knowledge and knowing. It is the hope that this presentation will offer entry points of action for educational leaders.

Authors

• Ann E. Lopez, OISE/University of Toronto
  Presenting Author

• Racheal Kalaba, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author