Administrative Experience: Leading for Equity and Cultural Responsiveness

Part 1

Culturally proficient leadership is the leadership method that values and embraces variety, inclusion, and equity in an association or community. Culturally proficient leaders have the knowledge, awareness, and abilities to explore and draw in different viewpoints, cultures, and backgrounds. They effectively establish a comprehensive and conscious environment where people from different social foundations feel esteemed and can flourish. Culturally proficient leaders perceive the significance of diversity and effectively work to do away with predispositions, advance value, and cultivate a feeling of belonging among all individuals from the community. It is the leadership aspect that has been embraced today due to globalization, which has allowed for diversification and a cooperating environment with respect to cultural differences. Culturally proficient leaders for k-12 administrators are essential as it will direct education by setting a multicultural education setting that focuses on the needs of the learners despite their backgrounds. The environment ensures that every stakeholder is recognized, valued, and respected. It will ensure that the administration, the teachers, students, families, and the communities have a comfortable relationship that promotes social justice and equity and enables the stakeholders to learn in the interconnected world with cultural diversity.

According to Leithwood (2021), culturally responsive and ambitious leaders allow for building a productive partnership among the parents, schools, and the larger community. It has been a major concern for policymakers due to the inequitable treatment of diverse school populations. For years, schools have been focusing on the children from their localities. However, this has now become challenging as globalization has led to a major development in people and different communities. People are moving from different areas and localities for different reasons, leading to mixed cultures and, hence, the need for cultural proficiency. It is a concern that dates back to the 1970s when an ‘effective school movement’ aimed at improving equity. Hence, culturally proficient leaders will create an environment that allows all stakeholders to feel valued and enriched to ensure the appropriate home and school environment for the learners. Therefore, the leaders should involve the parents in making decisions, ensuring there is no bias due to cultural differences. They will help create curriculum-guiding instruction that acknowledges diverse learners’ culture, ethnicity, and linguistic assets. They also have to assist the teacher in implementing the curriculum by ensuring they have sufficient materials and are aware of the forms of instruction appropriate for a diverse population of learners. It will ensure inclusivity.

Additionally, leaders need to have clear expectations that align with cultural diversity, which is in line with the century’s educational needs and practices. Research by Castro (2021) states that a culturally responsive K-12 leader includes being aware of cultural differences and knowing about particular cultures. It ensures that they are aware of the needs of the learners; therefore, they are able to ensure the teachers have sufficient teaching methods that are appropriate for the learners. They also have to be responsive to all the cultures within the school, which helps promote socially diverse professional development paths for the staff, teachers, and community, which helps with partnership. It ensures they focus on improving their institutions, increasing inclusivity and academic achievement, and having appropriate community engagement that is favorable for all stakeholders. The best practices for pk-12 principles in the era with major evolving demographics include training the teachers and staff in handling and managing a culturally diverse population, practicing integration, and embracing a culturally responsive learning environment (Castro, 2021). School leaders have to be culturally responsive by interacting with culturally diverse stakeholders, allies, and different personal experiences. It helps gather sufficient information and details on handling different cases and situations in a culturally diverse population. Wickham (2021) concurs that school leaders need training and experiences to build on their knowledge in dealing with culturally sensitive populations. Therefore, they need more training and strategies to help guide their administration in maintaining an education that allows for cultural inclusivity.

In school leadership, success is different from effectiveness. Wickham (2021) concludes that successful principles are culturally responsive leaders with emphasis on the quality of interpersonal relations, leadership distribution, capacity building, well-being, and academic achievement. The leader works on building and sustaining high levels of trust with the staff, students, and community. An effective leader ensures that their duties are done, but a successful leader adds to their duties being done. They focus on helping others and making a difference to ensure everyone is comfortable and doing well in different positions. The aim is to ensure major differences and growth involving all parties and stakeholders. To create a culturally inclusive environment, the principles must work with equitable practices and policies. Thus, integrating diverse perspectives into the curriculum from the teachers will help reflect on the experiences and backgrounds of the learners. In decision-making, the principal has to involve all stakeholders and get their views from various cultural backgrounds, ensuring every child has a representative. It will ensure all stakeholders’ shared commitment to ensuring success in creating a culturally responsive environment.

Part 2

Interviewee’s name:

Position:

District and school:

Length of time in current role:

Questionnaire

1. How do you provide an environment for courageous conversation and equity within the school community? – Be certain an environment that allows for open communication
2. What steps have you taken to ensure cultural inclusivity? – Training for all stakeholders and involving them in decision-making.
3. How has your leadership role changed how the team understands and values stakeholder diversity? – knowing you are in charge of others makes one dig deeper to understand things better. You cannot lead with no knowledge. I have had to get into training and interact more with people who have dealt with culturally diverse environments.
4. Have you experienced any biases among the stakeholders? Yes a lot
5. How have you addressed the biases and maintain an inclusive environment? – getting more ideas on how I can get them to learn how to deal with issues and dilemmas on diversity and inclusion. Also, having them get trained on it has changed things for the better
6. Have you experienced challenges with ethical decision-making on culturally diverse concerns? Yes, every day, there is something new coming up; there are times you realize you do not know everything, but the experience with dealing with previous things guides you in dealing with the concerns
7. In what ways have you included in the school to ensure a culturally responsive environment? – staff from diverse cultures
8. In the years you have served, have you focused on improving the professional development of the staff? How? Yes. I have ensured that the staff is culturally diverse, leading to them establishing a mechanism that allows for their collaboration. The workshops and training play a key part.
9. How do you ensure you give opportunities for collaboration with stakeholders in decision-making? – By having open conversations and ensuring everyone is involved in decision-making. It ensures people raise their different views, and in the end, we all decide not to favor any party.
10. What equity, diversity, and cultural responsiveness improvements have you identified since adjusting the practices? – The staff and the community rely on each other. The students understand each other and work together harmoniously, and the teachers solve cases better.
11. How are the education results between now and how did you start? What can you attribute it to? – There is a change in performance from the learners of different cultures. We have them taking the lead.
12. When you first started making changes, did you face any resistance? How did you handle it? Yes, making adjustments to the policies and practices and making them clear to everyone. It gave the choice for them to accept change or leave.
13. What advice would you give to other administrators? – take the lead and accept the challenge. It urges you to keep digging for ways to improve your institution in those aspects.

Part 3: Reflection

The leader ensures they engage in courageous conversations about diversity according to standard 3, which ensures they create a safe and inclusive environment that allows for openness as the members trust each other, allowing explicit communication about diversity (Mississippi Department of Education, 2017). The leader also leads by example as they are empathetic, listen actively, and are willing to learn. They also ensure that the environment allows for the growth of individual mindsets where the individuals are able to learn through the different opportunities. It ensures they do not feel any threat despite the differences.

The administrator’s actions align with the proficiency standard for education leaders for standard three. It promotes cultural competence by creating a friendly environment that fosters learning and change to ensure cultural diversity inclusion (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2017. The leader ensures that they strive for equity of education opportunities and culturally responsive practices that promote each student’s academic success and well-being by appreciating every learner and ensuring they are respected, heard, and understood. They have also ensured that the teachers and the staff are an accessible resource for the learners. There have been effective policies and practices that have been put into practice to address any misconduct while ensuring there is no bias.

The leader’s practices are consistent with the research for findings of effective leaders, as there is the prioritization of inclusion and diversity in school practices and policies. The administrator has focused on ensuring the staff has enhanced their cultural competence and model inclusivity behavior by having them attend workshops and professional development opportunities. It ensures that the school environment is friendly, and the collaboration of all stakeholders allows for the integration of diverse populations and perspectives. It helps in decision-making as all parties are represented. It has also created an environment that allows for open communication and discussions. When people understand each other and their differences and how they enrich the institution, respect exists, creating a culturally responsive environment.

The leaders state that being clear in communication about things and expectations helps to ensure fair, equitable, and ethical treatment of everyone in their leadership. When the people know what is expected from them and the policies and procedures are clear, it ensures there is no bias as everyone understands their position. Ensuring the staff has continued training on the topics. It ensures the staff is aware of any developments and new practices in dealing with diversity, inclusion, and equity cases. It helps them gain experience and knowledge in handling different cases. Inclusive decision-making ensures all stakeholders are involved, considering all differences and cultures.

The administrator has done amazingly well in ensuring a culturally responsive environment. However, I would recommend setting clear inclusion and diversity goals that align with the mission and vision of the institution. It will serve as a roadmap for dealing with ethical dilemmas and for progress with all stakeholders on issues concerning cultural diversity. Regularly review policies and practices in the institution to ensure the stakeholders are updated. The administrator ensures that all staff undergo training on inclusion, equity, and cultural diversity. Therefore, there is a need to make adjustments to the practices as they gain more knowledge. Also, having a resource group for all staff will ensure that the staff have a platform that allows them to share experiences, connect, and get assistance in the case of a dilemma.

References

Castro, E. B. (2021). Deconstructing the Linchpin Role: A Qualitative Study of the Role of Principal Supervisors in a Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Educational Leadership Setting in One of the School Districts in the Southwest Region of the United States (Doctoral dissertation, New Mexico State University). https://www.proquest.com/openview/cbfe5bca17dd05711be4fe18799f92b1/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Leithwood, K. (2021). A review of evidence about equitable school leadership. Education Sciences, 11(8), 377. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080377

Mississippi Department of Education. (2017). MISSISSIPPI EDUCATOR & ADMINISTRATOR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH SYSTEM. https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/documents/OEE/administrator/administratorgrowth-rubric20171114.pdf

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2017). Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. https://www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf

Wickham, S. M. (2021). How School Leaders Experience and Persist in Efforts of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Using Culturally Responsive Leadership (Doctoral dissertation, William Woods University). https://www.proquest.com/openview/a1da23fa58aecac9265ae3c8ddf2a680/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y