Exploring Organizational Leadership for English Learner Equity

ABSTRACT

In this study, we explore leadership practices in a dual-language elementary school led by three leaders of color committed to the ideals of cultural responsiveness. We employ an organizational leadership lens informed by aspects of culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) and teaching (CRT) to interpret interview and observational data collected during the implementation of an equity-oriented engineering program for English learner (EL) students. In the midst of attempting to implement this school-research partnership, preexisting tensions between the school’s leadership and instructional culture rose to the forefront, offering the opportunity to analyze the data with this particular intersectional lens (organizational leadership and CRSL). Thus, subsequent data analysis focused not on program implementation but rather the existing challenges present in the school. Insights from our data suggest that both school leaders and teachers faced considerable challenges that appeared to stem from disparate understandings of how to achieve equity for their EL students. Ultimately, these challenges prevented leaders’ successful enactment of CRSL within the existing organizational infrastructure. We suggest that the lack of explicit processes of critical consciousness defined the school culture and that accountability practices limited leaders’ ability to implement CRSL.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12 1503428), Design Technology in Engineering Education for English Learner Students (Project DTEEL), PI, Callahan, R.M., Co-PI, Crawford, R. In addition, the authors were supported by grant P2CHD042849, Population Research Center, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Opinions reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agencies.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. English learner (EL) refers to those bilingual youth who are identified, upon entry into US K-12 schools, as needing linguistic support services to access academic content on grade level.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12 1503428), Design Technology in Engineering Education for English Learner Students (Project DTEEL), PI, Callahan, R.M., Co-PI, Crawford, R. In addition, the authors were supported by grant P2CHD042849, Population Research Center, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Opinions reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agencies.