This study explores student reflections about issues related to equity, diversity, and social justice from an educational foundations course. Online reflections and course assignments were analyzed from 15 aspiring administrators for patterns. Findings indicate that (1) students were willing to engage and reflect on their experiences and cultural identity, (2) students used their worldviews as filters for these experiences, (3) students were not necessarily willing to experience discomfort for the sake of learning about difference, and (4) students thought about their identities in a range of distinct developmental ways. If educational administration programs are to prepare future administrators who are reflective practitioners and critical thinkers working for social justice, professors must prepare these individuals to acknowledge their cultural identity and its implications for the schools they lead, and professors must account for their students’ developmental differences in class.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamsM. (1997). Pedagogical frameworks for social justice education. In AdamsM., BellL. A., & GriffinP. (Eds.), Teaching for diversity and social justice: A sourcebook (pp. 30–43). New York: Routledge.
2.
AllenA. (1997). Creating space for discussion about justice and equity in an elementary classroom. Language Arts, 74(7), 518–524.
3.
AndersonG. (1990). Toward a critical constructivist approach to school administration: Invisibility, legitimation and the study of non-events. Educational Administration Quarterly, 26, 38–59.
4.
AnfaraV. A.Jr., BrownK. M., & MangioneT. L. (2002). Qualitative analysis on stage: Making the research process more public. Educational Researcher, 31(7), 28–38.
5.
AyersW., HuntJ. A., & QuinnT. (Eds.). (1998). Teaching for social justice.New York: New Press.
6.
BanksJ. A. (1994). Multiethnic education: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
7.
BanksJ. A. (1999). An introduction to multicultural education (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
8.
BemakF., & ChungR. C. (2005). Advocacy as a critical role for urban school counselors: Working toward equity and social justice. Professional School Counseling, 8(3), 196–202.
9.
BennettM. J. (1993). Towards a developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In PaigeR. M. (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 109–135). Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
10.
BennettM. J. (2004). Becoming interculturally competent. In WurzelJ. (Ed.), Toward multiculturalism: A reader in multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 62–77). Newton, MA: Intercultural Resource Corporation.
11.
BogdanR., & BiklenS. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson / Allyn & Bacon.
12.
BogotchI. E. (2002). Educational leadership and social justice: Practice into theory. Journal of School Leadership, 12(2), 18.
13.
BrownK. M. (2004a). Assessing preservice leaders’ beliefs, attitudes, and values regarding issues of diversity, social justice, and equity: A review of existing measures. Equity and Excellence in Education, 37, 332–342.
14.
BrownK. M. (2004b). Leadership for social justice and equity: Weaving a transformative framework and pedagogy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 40(1), 77–108.
15.
BrownK. M. (2006). Leadership for social justice and equity: Weaving a transformative framework and andragogy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 42(5), 700–745.
16.
BrunerJ. (1990). Acts of meaning.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
17.
Cambron-McCabeN., & McCarthyM. M. (2005). Educating school leaders for social justice. Education Policy, 19(1), 201–222.
18.
CapperC. A., FratturaE. M., & KeyesM. W. (2000). Meeting the needs of students of all abilities: How leaders go beyond inclusion.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
19.
CharmazK. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
20.
Cochran-SmithM. (1995). Color blindness and basket making are not the answers: Confronting the dilemmas of race, culture, and language diversity in teacher education. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 493–522.
21.
Cochran-SmithM. (2003a). The multiple meanings of multicultural education: A conceptual framework. Teacher Education Quarterly, 30(2), 7–26.
22.
Cochran-SmithM. (2003b). The unforgiving complexity of teaching: Avoiding simplicity in the age of accountability [Editorial]. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(1), 3–5.
23.
Cochran-SmithM., & LytleS. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Research in Education, 24, 249–305.
24.
ConstantineM. G. (2001). Multicultural training, self-construals, and multicultural competence of school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 4(3), 202–207.
25.
DantleyM. (2002). Uprooting and replacing positivism, the melting pot, multiculturalism, and other impotent notions in education leadership through an African American perspective. Education and Urban Society, 34(3), 334–352.
26.
DantleyM. E., & TillmanL. C. (2006). Social justice and moral transformative leadership. In MarshallC., & OlivaM. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 16–30). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
27.
Darling-HammondL., FrenchJ., & Garcia-LopezS. P. (2002). Learning to teach for social justice.New York: Teachers College Press.
28.
DelpitL. D. (1988). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people's children. Harvard Educational Review, 58(3), 280–298.
29.
DiamondJ. B., RandolphA., & SpillaneJ. P. (2004). Teachers’ expectations and sense of responsibility for student learning: The implications of school race, class, and organizational habitus. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 35(1), 75–98.
30.
EdlerJ., & IronsB. (2002). Distancing behaviors often used by White people. In LeeE., MenkartD., & Okazawa-ReyM. (Eds.), Beyond heroes and holidays: A practical guide to K-12 anti-racist, multicultural education and staff development (p. 114). Washington, DC: Teaching for Change.
31.
FloydF., & SteinT. S. (2002). Sexual orientation identity formation among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth: Multiple pattern of milestone experiences. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(2), 167–191.
32.
GatesS. M., RingelJ. S., SantibanezL., ChungC. H., & RossK. (2003). Who is leading our schools ? An overview of school administrators and their careers.Santa Monica, CA: Rand.
33.
GaudelliW. (2001). Reflection on multicultural education: A teacher's experience. Multicultural Education, 84(4), 35–37.
34.
GlaserB. G., & StraussA. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research.Chicago: Aldine.
GoffmanE. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life.New York: Anchor Books.
37.
GroganM., & AndrewsR. (2002). Defining preparation and professional development for the future. Educational Administration Quarterly, 38(2), 233–256.
38.
HackmanH. W. (2005). Five essential components for social justice education. Equity and Excellence in Education, 38(2), 103–109.
39.
HafnerM. M. (2006). Teaching strategies for developing leaders for social justice. In MarshallC., & OlivaM. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (pp. 167–193). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
40.
HammerM. R., BennettM. J., & WisemanR. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(4), 421–443.
41.
HardimanR. (2001). Reflections on White identity development theory. In WijeyesingheC., & JacksonB. W. (Eds.), New perspectives on racial identity development: A theoretical and practical anthology (pp. 108–128). New York: New York University Press.
42.
HelmsJ. E. (1990). Black and White racial identity: Theory, research, and practice.New York: Greenwood Press.
43.
HelmsJ. E. (1992). A race is a nice thing to have: A guide to being a White person or understanding the White persons in your life.Topeka, KS: Content Communications.
44.
HelmsJ. E. (1995). An update of Helm's white and people of color racial identity models. In PonterottoJ. G., CasasM. J., SuzukiL. A., & AlexanderC. M. (Eds.), Handbook on multicultural counseling.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
HowardG. R. (1999). We can't teach what we don't know: White teachers, multiracial schools.New York: Teachers College Press.
46.
Ladson-BillingsG. (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159.
47.
LevineA. (2005). Educating school leaders.Washington, DC: Education Schools Project.
48.
LymanL. L., & VillaniC. J. (2002). The complexity of poverty: A missing component of educational leadership programs. Journal of School Leadership, 12(3), 246–280.
49.
MarshallJ. M., & TheoharisG. (2007). Moving beyond being nice: Teaching and learning about social justice in a predominantly White educational leadership program. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 2(2), 1–31.
50.
MaynesB., & SarbitB. (2000). Schooling children living in poverty: Perspectives on social justice. Exceptionality Education Canada, 10(1-2), 37–61.
51.
McintoshP. (1988). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack (Working Paper No. 189). Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College Center for Research on Women.
52.
McintoshP. (1992). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondence through work in women's studies. In AndersonM. L., & CollinsP. H. (Eds.), Race, class and gender: An anthology (pp. 70–81). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
53.
MeadowsM., & LeeJ. H. (2002). The challenge of using multicultural education in predominately White early childhood classrooms. International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 8(2), 105–124.
54.
MilnerH. R. (2003). Reflection, racial competence, and critical pedagogy: How do we prepare pre-service teachers to pose tough questions?Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 6(2), 193–208.
55.
MilnerH. R. (2005). Developing a multicultural curriculum in a predominantly White teaching context: Lessons from an African American teacher in a suburban English classroom. Curriculum Inquiry, 35(4), 391–427.
56.
MullenC. A. (2008). Exploring the nexus. Teacher Development: An International Journal of Teachers’ Professional Development, 12(4), 277.
57.
MurphyJ. (2006). Elephants or dinosaurs? A call to action for ed schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(7), 529–536.
58.
NietoS. (2000). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (3rd ed.). New York: Longman.
59.
ParkerL., & ShapiroJ. P. (1992). Where is the discussion of diversity in educational administration programs? Graduate students’ voices addressing an omission in their preparation. Journal of School Leadership, 2, 7–33.
60.
PollockM. (2004). Race wrestling: Struggling strategically with race in educational practice and research. American Journal of Education, 111, 25–67.
61.
PounderD., ReitzugU., & YoungM. D. (2002). Preparing school leaders for school improvement, social justice, and community. In MurphyJ. (Ed.), The educational leadership challenge: Redefining leadership for the 21st century (pp. 261–288). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
62.
RidenourC. S. (2004). Finding the horizon: Education administration students paint a landscape of cultural diversity in schools. Journal of School Leadership, 14(1), 4–31.
63.
RiesterA., PurschV., & SkrlaL. (2002). Principals for social justice: Leaders of school success for children from low-income homes. Journal of School Leadership, 12, 281–304.
64.
RyanJ. (2003). Educational administrators’ perceptions of racism in diverse school contexts. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 6(2), 145–164.
65.
ScheurichJ. J. (1998). Highly successful and loving, public elementary schools populated mainly by low-SES children of color: Core beliefs and cultural characteristics. Urban Education, 33(4), 451–491.
66.
ScheurichJ. J., & SkrlaL. (2003). Leadership for equity and excellence: Creating high-achievement classrooms, schools, and districts.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
67.
SleeterC. E., & McLarenP. (1995). Multicultural education, critical pedagogy, and the politics of difference.Albany: State University of New York Press.
68.
StraussA., & CorbinJ. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
69.
TatumB. D. (1994). Teaching White students about racism: The search for White allies and the restoration of hope. Teachers College Record, 95(4), 462–476.
70.
TouchtonD., & Acker-HocevarM. (2001, November). Using a lens of social justice to reframe principals’ interviews from high poverty, low performing schools. Paper presented at the University Council for Educational Administration.
71.
TraudtK. (2002). Survey says …: Can a White teacher effectively teach students of color? In Darling-HammondL., FrenchJ., & Garcia-LopezS. P. (Eds.), Learning to teach for social justice (pp. 43–51). New York: Teachers College Press.
72.
TrumbellE., Rothstein-FischC., GreenfieldP. M., & QuirozB. (2001). The bridging cultures framework. In Bridging cultures between home and school: A guide for teachers with a special focus on immigrant Latino families (pp. 1–27). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
73.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). Statistical abstract of the United States.Washington, DC: Author.
74.
VibertA. (2000). School leadership and critical practice in an elementary school. Exceptionality Education Canada, 10(1-2), 13.
75.
VygotskyL. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
76.
YoungM. D., & BrewerC. (2008). Fear and the preparation of school leaders: The role of ambiguity, anxiety and power in meaning making. Educational Policy, 22(1), 106–129.
77.
YoungM., & LaibleJ. (2000). White racism, antlracism, and school leadership preparation. Journal of School Leadership, 10, 374–415.
