Aspiring and practicing leaders addressing issues of diversity and social justice

Abstract

For the most part, faculty preparing teachers and leaders for tomorrow's schools would agree that educators, regardless of their role, need to be sensitive to the diverse cultures represented in our schools. Leaders need to be sensitive to and understanding of different cultures, while working to ensure the success of all students regardless of race, national origin, sex, disability. The movie Crash (2004) was used as a critical reflection instructional tool for aspiring and current leaders to focus on diversity and social justice issues dealing with race, gender, and diverse ethnic cultures. Self‐reflections of graduate students are shared as they grappled with their beliefs, experiences, and stereotypes. This paper focuses on the themes of self‐reflective leadership, privilege and power, voluntary or self‐segregation, student expectations, and stereotypes and discusses the implications for Educational Leadership programs.

Keywords:

• diversity
• leadership preparation
• racism
• social justice

Notes

1. Social Justice Symposium, http://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/swga/symposium_2007/self‐reflection.htm.

2. See, for example, the story on Hazelton, PA in the Washington Post, 22 August 2006, p. A03.