Cultivating Critical Consciousness: Enhancing Today’s Educators and Tomorrow’s Leaders

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Short Description

In order to lead a different world in a different way, leaders must be equipped to navigate historical, political, ideological, and interpersonal tensions. This session will address two contemporary challenges in leadership education: the need for substantive curriculum focused on inclusion and social change; and the need for well-trained, well-rounded educators. Presenters will share the Critical Leadership Framework (Taylor & Brownell, 2017) and briefly explore its application in a leadership program. Participants in this workshop will engage in critical reflection and thoughtful engagement with other leadership educators to improve their current efforts using literature, emerging frameworks, and perspectives from practice.

Detailed Abstract

This presentation emerges at the intersection of two contemporary challenges in leadership education: 1) the need for substantive curriculum focused on inclusion and social change in leadership learning spaces, and 2) the need for well-trained and well-rounded instructors and facilitators to help cultivate critical and responsible leaders.

Brown (2004) asserts the need for leadership educators to “retool their teaching and trainings to address issues of power and privilege,” in hopes to “…weave social justice into the fabric of educational leadership curriculum, pedagogy, programs, and policies” (p. 78). Haber & Komives (2009) identify the need for quality leadership education experiences, to transform students into competent global citizens. Patterson (2013) asserts the utility of critical theory in working toward cultivating culturally competent student leaders.

The need for training is supported by literature on faculty members’ engagement with diversity related content in the classroom. Three key issues exist: 1) faculty who are less confident in their ability to effectively facilitate diversity related content in the classroom are less likely to introduce this sort of content, 2) faculty members social identity, specifically gender and race, are factors influencing their likelihood of facilitating diversity related content, and 3) faculty who are engaged in diversity related training, development, and activities are more likely to introduce diversity related content in the classroom and with a higher degree of confidence. This is not to say that all those engaged teaching and developing leaders struggle with diversity related content, but because this research is focused on collegiate instructors across disciplines, it is useful to consider since leadership is often taught across disciplines.

Thoughtful engagement and critical reflection will guide participants in examining, interrogating, and re-envisioning their work to train and develop leaders. Using leadership literature, the Critical Leadership Framework (Taylor & Brownell, in press), as well as their own practical knowledge the facilitators will: 1) offer critical considerations for leadership education curriculum and pedagogy, 2) outline training and development strategies to support instructors’ curricular delivery, and 3) suggest strategies to support successful and sustainable implementation of new approaches in participants’ specific organizational contexts. Overall, presenters hope to engender change in how we prepare leadership educators to ultimately impact how we develop leaders.

Rather than offering a new leadership theory, Taylor and Brownell (in press) use a series of critical theories to construct a framework which can be used to guide the evaluation, selection, and application of extant leadership theories. The Critical Leadership Framework proposed by Taylor and Brownell (in press) is comprised of five dimensions to be considered at three levels of application. The framework asserts the need to consider: 1) internal discourses (Bensimon, 2005; Brayboy, 2005; Horkheimer, 1993; McCoy & Rodricks, 2015); 2) interpersonal interactions (Carbado et al., 2013; Collinson & Tourish, 2015; Crenshaw, 1991; McCoy & Rodricks, 2015); 3) concepts in context (Collinson & Tourish, 2015; Lipman-Blumen, 2000); 4) theoretical perspectives (Collinson & Tourish, 2015); and 5) histories and historical perspectives (Ladson-Billings, 1998; Lynn & Dixson, 2013) in the education and development of leaders. Drawing on work of Rhoads & Tierney (1992) and Patterson (2013), Taylor and Brownell (in press) suggest focusing application of this framework on the curricular, instructional, and organizational levels.

This workshop is focused on the instructional level of the model, offering participants the opportunity to reflect critically on their instructional practices, consider training and development topics to support the cultivation of critical and conscientious instructors.

We plan for participants of the workshop to accomplish the following outcomes:
Participants will discuss and consider the need for critical perspectives in leadership education curricula and pedagogy
Participants will explore the role(s) that leadership educators can play in cultivating critical perspectives amongst their students
Participants will explore the ways training and development can help to build leadership educators’ skill in cultivating critical perspectives in students

Welcome & Overview
Facilitator introduction and background
Brief overview of the Leadership Minor (Univ of MN)
Challenges that led to the application of Critical Perspectives
Where are we as leadership education programs?
Activity 1 - Individual reflection & Small Groups
Participants work individually to outline their current leadership education approaches and guiding theories
Participants work in small groups to share their approaches and identify similarities and differences
Small groups discuss their existing training(s) to support those approaches
Short large group debrief and harvesting
Introduction of Guiding literature
Faculty engagement with diversity literature
Teaching and learning literature
Critical Leadership Framework (CLF)
Example of application of CLF at the Leadership Minor: a large public research 1, undergraduate minor, and how CLF was applied to the training model and process
Examples of trainings
Reenvisioning Leadership Education Approaches
Activity 2 - Individual or Small groups (depending on preference)
Participants will work to revise aspects of their leadership approach (compiled in Activity 1) using Guiding Literature & CLF
Facilitators will work one on one to support participants throughout the work time
2-3 Individuals or small groups will be invited to present their work to the large group
Reflection on Application
Participants will discuss “easy wins,” possible allies, and “pinch points” in implementing the revisions (Activity 2) at their respective institutions, organizations, and programs
Facilitators will offers strategies from research and practice that could help with implementation
Questions

Participation in this workshop has several potential implications for leadership education. First, for those that train, educate, and work develop student leaders, this workshop serves as an opportunity to reflect critically on curriculum and pedagogy. Reflection in the context will hopefully lead to innovations in participants’ leadership work. For staff and administrators responsible for supporting, delivering, and improving leadership opportunities on campus, perspectives from this workshop can help to strengthen and extend programmatic efforts to cultivate inclusive leaders. Because leadership and social justice are often researched separately, perspectives from this workshop help to marry the concepts in practice. Specifically, application of perspectives from Taylor and Brownell (in press) create opportunities to strengthen and refine the Critical Leadership Framework through future research on its utility.

Sub Unit

• Leadership Education

Presenters

• Leonard D. Taylor, Mississippi State University

• Jessica Chung, University of Minnesota