Exploring the Impact of Leadership Values and Practices to Support Equity and Social Justice in an Urban School

<p>This qualitative case study explores the leadership values and practices of a principal in a sixth through twelfth-grade school in the Rocky Mountain West to determine how leadership values and practices support the implementation of equitable and socially just practices in the school. Five key themes emerged: (a) equity as a Black/non-Black construct; (b) a lack of knowledge and awareness of the historical contexts of marginalized populations; (c) moral courage for all members of the school; (d) equity as an initiative or program; (e) resistance to deep equity work. From these themes, I devise three recommendations to support substantial and better-aligned work to increase equity and social justice in the school: (a) refining equity work in progress; (b) elevating other marginalized voices across the organization; and (c) increasing the moral-courage capacity of all teaching and coaching staff, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. There is also a post-study discussion with the school leader. Finally, I provide recommendations for further study.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation in Practice

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Farmen, Susan-Marie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kristina Hesbol
• Carolyn Shields
• Erin Anderson

• Equity
• School leadership
• Social justice
• Transformative leadership
• Education
• Educational Administration and Supervision
• Educational Leadership

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1918

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-2915