Exploring the Role of the School Principal in Predominantly White Middle Schools

School Leadership to Promote Multicultural Understanding

Jacquelynne Anne Boivin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000246315
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Administration

By detailing an explanatory sequential mixed methods study grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), this book explores the role of effective educational leadership in developing multicultural acceptance in predominantly white schools.

Drawing on the rich experiences and accounts of school principals in rural middle schools in the US, the volume asks how principals' personal attitudes, professional experiences, and the degree to which they view themselves as a mentor and influencer within the school impacts their approach to improving multicultural understanding amongst students, staff, and faculty. The text is organized into five clear chapters, providing critical reflections, a review of the relevant literature, and in-depth discussion of first-hand data. Six key findings relating to whole-school acceptance, the role of individual principal's attitudes, and support for teaching staff open new avenues for research and inform recommendations for the professional development of school principals.

In presenting key theory and practical implications of research, this book will be crucial reading for researchers, scholars, and practitioners in the fields of educational leadership, multicultural education, sociology of education, and teacher education.

1
Critical Reflections as a White Teacher and Researcher in Predominantly White Settings

Introduction

This first section is an honest, open, recount of how my self-reflective work has shown me my unconscious biases. While I state my faults, I focus on my proactive nature. My ambition to expand my multicultural understandings has benefited my fifth-grade students and future teachers in my college-level classes. Being a teacher who promotes multiculturalism, however, is not always met with support.

Exploring My Sociological Perspective

Cows, corn, potatoes, and a community where everyone knows everything about each other. That’s my hometown in western Massachusetts (MA), in a nutshell. My initial reflections on this setting were grounded in the understanding that there was a white predominance that evoked unconscious racism in me that I have tried to diminish over the years, both implicitly and explicitly. Upon reflecting on this view, I have dug more deeply into my personal story with an even more critical eye. By taking the time to learn about Critical Race Theory (CRT), I have developed a lens for revisiting my upbringing in a way I have not been possible previously. CRT is defined as a framework built with the presuppositions that “(1) race continues to be significant in the United States; (2) US society is based on property rights than human rights; and (3) the intersection of race and property creates an analytical tool for understanding inequality” (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995, p. 47). My viewpoint, in turn, shifted from recollecting the disparities of diversity, to why there are such disparities of nonwhite people in small towns like that of my childhood and first teaching position.

Setting the Scene

The “hometown bubble,” as my family called it, is how we defined the intrinsic disconnect that our town had from the larger world. Anything that deviated from the status quo sparked unsettlement in every nook and cranny in our town. “A black person moved in? What do you mean? In our hometown? Why? You’re joking!” That was the typical reaction of such an occurrence, without any remorse or hesitation. The population of my hometown, even today, is known for their lack of political correctness, which is not out of malice, but rather, ignorance.

You see, in the “hometown bubble,” since just about everyone is white, people are not concerned if they sound prejudiced. Their lack of exposure to other races has prohibited them from developing an ability to be racially blind and foster complete acceptance, never mind the ability to embrace racial diversity. This is not to say that they are unaccepting people, but rather, they are sheltered and inexperienced. The experiences they missed led to their unconscious prejudice, which was something that my parents witnessed repeatedly after they bought our home.

My hometown was safe, friendly, fairly wealthy, conflict-free, with fun traditions, and a small, high-achieving school district. A middle-class white family’s dream and, in many ways, a great place to grow up. My parents, which to this day still impresses me, did not let the appealing aspects of the town deter them from seeing what the town lacked: diversity.

Once my brother and I were born, they vowed to not let the “hometown bubble” shape our views of the world. The “bubble” was safe and comfortable, but our entire family knew that it was not the place for growth. I had to break the boundaries, but needed help. My parents showed us how to actively seek out diverse experiences so that the world we grew to know had more to it than a racially ignorant environment.

Before discussing the steps I took to increase my multicultural understandings and exposure to diversity, it is important to understand why my scenario is becoming increasingly common in the United States. My CRT lens allows me to ask why there are diverse communities and predominantly white communities today.

Why was my town predominantly white? A simple glance at the property costs and tax rates in my hometown made clear that only a certain socioeconomic group can afford to live in my hometown. A drive through town with locals allowed me the chance to hear who owns what land. Locals tell about the massive expanses of land and giant houses belonging to just about every last name ending with -ski you could imagine. It was clear that the Polish families of the town owned more acreage than I could fathom. That land has been in those families for generations, with no plans to ever leave that bloodline. Simply, if you are not affluent and/or are not a member of one of the Polish farmers’ families, your odds of living in my hometown are bleak. Such perquisites may be a contributing factor to why my hometown has so few people from minority groups. The Polish farmers’ families have remained white from generation to generation. Further, the rates of black people within my hometown’s average socioeconomic status is incredibly low.

It is no secret that black people, on average in the US, earn less than white people. In fact, the Washington Post reported that the average black family has 1/10 the wealth of the average white family (Schermerhorn, 2019). While this information informed me of a major factor that contributed to the racial segregation between my hometown and the abutting city, it also made me wonder if this were the only factor. I thought back to the fact that since the town was historically, predominantly white and was home to families for multiple generations, black people moving to town was a big deal that prompted people to talk and gossip. I have no memory of these few black people in town ever attending community events or mingling with neighbors. They certainly were not in my neighborhood. I came to the conclusion that overcoming the hurdles to living in my hometown was just the first obstacle. Community acceptance and welcoming was another challenge for minority people to face. The lack of community acceptance of diversity in race was lacking, thus causing people of other races to not want to live where they did not necessarily feel a sense of belonging. As my CRT lens aided my ability to think about why my town was predominantly white, CRT has allowed me to dissect my learning about race in two categories: implicit and explicit.

Implicit Learning of Race

Just as CRT supplies the understanding that there are racial underpinnings to every facet of life, CRT also allowed me to see that I was learning about race and privilege, even when I was unaware of it. By playing sports, I was implicitly learning race. Such experiential learning was intentionally done by my parents, little did I know.

Just south of my hometown, actually abutting the town line, there is a city of culture and diversity that exposed my brother and I to different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, languages, religions, and more. Not only were we around a more varied group of people than in my home-town, but we were able to form relationships with them as well. By playing sports there, I made friends with girls of all types of backgrounds that were not present in my hometown. My sixth-grade class, for example, was the same class I was with in preschool and just about the same when I graduated high school. There was definitely consistency in who my peers were. By bursting through the “hometown bubble” a few times per week, I was able to decrease my unconscious bias because I had practice with interacting with peers who were racially different than me. By previously only having exposure to an all-white setting, I did have a transitional period where my unconscious prejudice regrettably showed.

My implicit learning of race began through athletics and the social interactions that came with the experiences. One day, at soccer practice, all of us were lined up to do a shooting drill on the goal and were having a conversation about hair. The black girl in front of me had cornrows braids. Referring to her hair, I remarked, “I really wish I could pull that style off, but that’s not anything we can do” as I gestured to myself and two other white girls on the team. The girl looked at me a bit confused, but didn’t say anything. She took her turn in the drill and never mentioned the scenario again. I thought about it later that night and realized how my comment could have offended her, so the next time I saw her I told her about my revelation and apologized, which she thankfully accepted. She explained to me that she knew I didn’t have malicious intentions. I recognized that my subtly racist remarks may not be as forgiven in the future, especially as I got older and spent more time away from my hometown. This theme of purposefully searching for diversity has been a strong part of my life to this day. By purposefully immersing myself in more diverse groups, I opened myself up to a new world of implicit learning, which was valuable, but still left some blanks that only explicit learning could fill.

Explicitly Studying Race

As my understandings about race happened naturally, I started to become more aware of the role race played in my everyday events. As the implicit racial education I learned through social and athletic interactions took place, I wanted to learn more. My yearning to learn more manifested into a hunger for a more purposeful search for diversity.

Upon graduating high school, I still felt unsatisfied in my exposure to diversity. I am very family-oriented, so traveling far was not an option, causing me to seek a local avenue to satiate my hunger for diversity. I have developed biases and assumptions that have prevented me from having a more well-rounded perspective, a personal flaw that will always remain in me, but which I have the power to diminish. When I attended college, I found that a small, all-women’s, liberal arts college was in the city south of my hometown. To put it simply, it was an ideal fit for me as a learner. This college is where I made great friends from all over the world. Aside from my diverse friends, I also was able to study race through academia.

My explicit education about race came when I took courses in the Afro-American Studies department, where I read literature, watched films, listened to music, wrote, and researched, all centering around African American lives. Thankfully, it was in this safe setting that I still had some unconscious prejudice. Now I was experiencing race in the academic arena, rather than in only my social life, as when I made the insensitive hair comment of the soccer field. I remember when I was taking a course on slave perspectives throughout American history, I met with my professor during office hours to present my rough draft to her to see if I was on the right track. She highlighted some sections and told me that some of my phrasing and word choices were “borderline racist.” I was shocked and embarrassed, causing me to apologize profusely because she was a black woman herself. She described to me that it happens frequently when students write about people outside of their own race. She said that it wasn’t blatant racist writing, but there were hints of prejudice that she saw were obviously unconsciously included. She guided me through how to change my writing to avoid this in the future, which included tips as simple as careful word choice. I am very thankful for her patience, since not every person who reads my writing in the future will be that understanding.

Fighting to Follow Two Passions

At the tender age of 20, I recognized I had two priorities as a lifelong learner. The first was to seek out racial diversity whenever possible to gain further insight and understanding. The second was to teach those in most need. While in college, I carried my hunger for diversity into my student teaching as well. When I taught at Jasper Road Elementary for my fall semester of senior year, I was thrilled with the variety of students, especially in terms of race, socioeconomic statues, and language (this is the ELL school of the small city). When I received my spring placement, I was distraught. The college’s campus school? Where the majority of the students were white and all attended because they could afford the hefty price tag? This was not where I felt I was going to be of real service to the students, especially not when the greatest problem that faced these students was a malfunctioning iPad. What about the ELL student who needs a Band-Aid, but can’t ask in English? I wouldn’t be there to help her and that was not okay with me.

I had to fight and petition because my desire was against the status quo of student teacher placement, but I was approved to serve a second semester at Jasper Road Elementary in a different grade. I wanted to be where I was ensuring students ate breakfast and had bilingual support. It was in the public, high-risk setting that I felt I was truly serving a purpose. I knew that this is what I needed in order to gain a deeper, immersive experience in a diverse setting. I needed a full year, not only a semester. I knew consistency with racially diverse people was key in changing any residual bias that may still be ingrained in me.

The Teaching and Hunger for Diversity Balance Continues

When pursuing my master’s degree, my search for diversity continued. Why attend an inner-city college? Why not spend another year at the small liberal arts college close to home? My response was that even my undergraduate institution had its own bubble that I needed to burst through. Even when choosing a doctoral program, it was important to me to have some face-to-face time, rather than purely online, so that I could meet a variety of people. This consistency in seeking diversity was something that I continue to see as an integral piece of my identity.

My first classroom was at Mill River Elementary School in northwestern MA, a predominately white student body with an entirely white faculty and staff. I taught the most diverse class that the most veteran teacher could remember ever passing through the town, which had two black students out of a class of 22. Teaching diverse students was the norm for me, but upon collaborating with my colleagues, I found that they had their own unconscious bias. Comments such as, “Well, teaching slavery must be tough in your class” forced me to notice that they really never had much exposure to people of other races. Their backgrounds were all local and the school had a history of being a largely white school. They also did not foster the same motivation I had to seek out opportunities to make their perspectives more well-rounded. Empathy requires an understanding of the other person’s identity, and since race is an aspect of identity, they could not fully empathize with people of different races.

Creating Educative Experiences

Having to purposefully search for diversity to inform myself has been a norm all of my life. It’s been a constant balance of being grounded in my familiar, safe home that is marked with homogeneity, and striving for exposure to lead to internalization. I’ve never just wanted to be around people of different races, but rather, learn from them so that I would foster total understanding of what “acceptance” means. Standing next to a black person doesn’t mean that I will suddenly understand how not be racially unbiased. It takes time, experience, insight, and effort on my part to learn about what it means to be black. I recognize that I am not fully unbiased to other races because I cannot ignore my sheltered, home-town roots. I still have to catch myself occasionally when I say something unintentionally prejudiced. Exposure is just the first step because breaking a bias needs to be experiential and behavioral, not something that is through learning facts in a textbook.

Learning through experience when trying to eliminate or dismantle a bias is the cornerstone of what I hope to accomplish through purposeful interactions. Dewey (1938) wrote about experience-based learning leading to authentic internalization. If that experience is educative, it leads to more experiences to learn from and opens doors for growth. In contrast, if the experience is mis-educative, it threatens limitations. A mis-educative experience hinders the learner’s ability to have educative experiences. If I had stayed within the “hometown bubble,” I would have risked mis-educative experiences that were not purposefully racist, but nonetheless, were racist. By breaking into the city, I was able to have educative experiences with racial diversity before I would have the ability to let the mis-educative experiences overshadow my ability to have educative experiences.

The key to making my experiences with other races educative would be for me to not be a passive learner. I cannot rely purely on exposure to guide my learning. I must take initiative to reflect-in-action, a process outlined by Schön (1983) in which he described the importance of thinking about the learning experi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• List of Tables
• About the Author
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Critical Reflections as a White Teacher and Researcher in Predominantly White Settings
• 2 Understanding the Role of Educational Leadership in Promoting Multicultural Understanding
• 3 Researching Principals’ Attitudes and Efforts to Promote Multicultural Understandings
• 4 Applying Critical Race Theory to Findings: Practical and Theoretical Implications
• 5 Next Steps in Schooling, Leadership, and Research
• Appendix A: Participant Closed-Response Survey
• Appendix B: Participant Interview Protocol
• Index