Files

Abstract

The voices of Black male principals in American P-12 settings have been silenced due to deficit framing that has informed hiring and retention practices, promotion, job roles, and job-related stress unique to Black male principals. I explore these challenges Black male principals face in P-12 settings using Carey’s (2019) conceptual framework of mattering for Black boys and young men in P-12 settings. The purpose of this collective case study was to center the voices of three P-12 Black male principals in South Carolina in order to conceptualize how Black male principals respond to marginal (a minimal recognition of Black boys that implies their insignificance) and partial mattering (selectively valuing certain talents and attributes Black boys embody). Further, this qualitative research study informed a reimagining of P-12 educational spaces where Black male principals comprehensively matter (fully conceiving the mattering of Black boys) based on the voices of these participants. Two key findings on how P-12 Black male principals responded to marginal and partial mattering were represented by the three performance types of (a) “The Director”, (b) “The Strategic Statesman”, and (c) “The Purposeful Passivist”. Within each performance role, two themes emerged: (a) Stress responses (e.g., confusion, apathy) at district levels in response to racism and (b) Leadership dispositions (e.g., being solutions based, confident demeanor) used as coping strategies in response to oppression and racism. Three key findings emerged relative to how Black male principals would reimagine P-12 spaces that would account for their comprehensive mattering. Those were: (a) Instructional leadership (b) Deep demonstration of care for students and (c) A rejection of standardization as a way to lead teaching and learning.

Details

PDF

Statistics

from
to
Export
Download Full History