Bringing an SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) and Racial Equity Lens to K–12 School Leadership

• In Event: Multiple Perspectives on Building a County-Wide Ecosystem of Social and Emotional Learning and Racial Equity

Abstract

Purpose and Theory. School leaders are important for the implementation of schoolwide SEL, but less is understood about their own SEL and Racial Equity development (Gimbert, 2023). This development is particularly complex when it occurs in a community of practice with other leaders in their school. Power dynamics are salient in how they perceive their ability to be vulnerable, have humility, and be open to perspectives of those with less formal power than themselves (Kennedy, 2019). The purpose of this session is to highlight key issues in school leader SEL development, and particularly in the form of a community of practice.

Mobilizing and generating resources to strengthen initiatives that contribute to achieving social justice is an essential part of leadership. Understanding that all relationships are influential, that contextual factors, situational dynamics, individuals, and artifacts influence one another to develop and sustain a culture is leadership practice (Spillane, 2006). According to Jazzar and Algozzine (2007), issues of oppression and inequities are appropriate topics to interrogate as a way of thinking and acting that recognizes the central role of schools in communities and the power of working together for a common good. Without a leader’s willingness to deal with dialogue, assumptions, and biases, differences will continue to be ignored. The power structure, hegemonic and hierarchical, continues as is, despite the rhetoric of vision, the researched pedagogy, and the community-shared and community-supported educational goals, schools remain the same. school leaders must act when they identify inequity because although they do not solely influence equitable practices, their demonstration of such is imperative to transforming organizational culture. Leaders for equity must develop their critical consciousness, make sense of the organizational culture and the community context. This includes learning the informal organizational norms, policies, and procedures of the school and district so that they understood the constraints on what they could and could not do professionally.

Methods, and Results. A case study of one school’s set of leaders (N=3; 6 sessions) will be described from the beginning of their community of practice to the end. This longitudinal review will focus on the development of their own SEL skills, their understanding of the intersection of SEL and Racial Equity, and their own struggles to align their practice with external pressures from school stakeholders, local policies, and board members. Findings highlight three salient moments that shifted the group’s dynamics, as well as reoccurring and recursive patterns over time.

Significance. School leaders are uniquely positioned to facilitate meaningful and substantive change at the building level as they strengthen their own capacity and recognize leadership at all levels. Those who are seeking to enact SEL through a racial justice lens implement incentive policies, introduce and support democratic and ethical organizational processes, and support expanded curricula and instructional practices that meet the needs of particular populations (Scheurich & Skrla, 2003). Within a community of practice model, school leaders collectively engage in dialogue and organize to improve the conditions under which they, their staff, students, and families engage to improve holistic learning and wellness.

Author

• Shallegra Moye, University of Pittsburgh