Enacting critical care and transformative leadership in schools highly impacted by poverty: an African-American principal’s counter narrative

Abstract

Critical notions of care and transformative educational leadership are much aligned, yet they are rarely simultaneously addressed in research. This article highlights the benefits of transformative educational leadership that enacts critical care. Critical care involves embracing and exhibiting values, dispositions and behaviours related to empathy, compassion, advocacy, systemic critique, perseverance and calculated risk-taking for the sake of justly servfing students and improving schools. Data discussed stem from the in-depth interviews of an African-American principal who implemented such practices and consequently helped boost the academic performance of a school highly impacted by poverty. The principal’s accounts of her practice comprise a counter narrative reflective of critical race methodology. Findings from the study speak to the importance of educators better understanding the reality of poverty given racialized conditions and other oppressive contexts so they can better prepare marginalized youth to achieve and succeed.

Notes

1. The terms African-American and black are used interchangeably in this paper.

2. These results are based on data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Program for International Student Assessment.

3. Tillman’s use of ‘transformational’ aligns with what I and Shields (2003, 2012), describe as ‘transformative.’.

4. The names of the principal and school in this article are pseudonyms.

5. Such emphasis and incentives are partly linked to a US federal funding programme called Race to the Top, of which North Carolina was one of only 12 US states to benefit from starting in 2010. See http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/. Additional information on North Carolina principal evaluation can be found at http://www.ncpapa.org/forms/evaluation%20instrument.pdf.

6. For more discussion of politics of containment theories in education, please see Ruffin-Adams and Wilson (2011). Advocacy-based partnerships, special education, & African American families: Resisting the politics of containment. In S. Auerbach (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships: Research perspectives for transforming practice (pp. 78–97). New York, NY: Routledge.

7. Researchers have examined the exiting trends of social justice oriented teachers who felt unsupported in their schools. There may be some parallel or very similar exiting pressures that principals experience. See Quartz et al. (2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Camille M. Wilson

Camille M. Wilson is an associate professor of Educational Studies at the University of Michigan, 610 East University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Her research explores school–family–community engagement, school choice policies and transformative leadership from critical and culturally relevant perspectives. Her research also employs qualitative methods that are informed by critical and feminist methodologies. She recently co-edited the book Advancing equity and achievement in America’s diverse schools: inclusive theories, policies, and practices. New York: Routledge.