Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

Importance of Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity and the Foundational Concepts That Underlie Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

Leadership in the education sector is a vital component in the establishment of school cultures and should, therefore, become a focus in discussions revolving around the development of school cultures, promoting inclusion, and honoring diversity. According to Blount (2013), the preparation and identification of teachers from under-represented groups are documented as a vital issue in successful reforms in the education sector. These leadership actions focus on the elimination of inequalities that incorporate or result in disparities in disciplinary practices, achievement gaps, placements in special education, inappropriate referrals, and school practices hindering the success of student groups. The concept of leadership for equity focuses on examining the results of all students, especially those who have not customarily been in schools that have been ranked as successful. Leadership equity can, therefore, provide the understanding of inclusive leadership as a unique form of learning leadership or pedagogy used in the educational environment (Rayner, 2009). It may also incorporate a form of distributed leadership that is additionally a form of continuous professional learning. Inclusive leadership is often used to direct activity and resources to create an effective operation of provision at any learning level in a learning community or organization. It mainly focuses on providing integrative management to create implicit learning. It is therefore important to consider leadership for educational equity and diversity as an integrating process shaping collaborative management of differences and diversity in the school environment.

Importance of Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

According to Khalifa (2020), leadership for educational equity and diversity is important because current school cultures have a likelihood of continuing to reflect the main group values unless they are specifically constructed with the comprehension of and respect for the significance of multiculturalism and diversity. For instance, lack of proper leadership for educational equality and diversity may lead to educators’ racially biased attitudes, unrepresentative and Eurocentric curricula, unrepresentative staffing and administration, and culturally biased assessment activities (Blount,2013). It is important to monitor these factors because they contribute to the need for teachers to become aware of and reveal unchallenged assumptions in the culture of a learning institution. Egbo (2009) argues that only addressing issues relating to multiculturalism and diversity by creating programs, rules, and policies to respond to the needs of assorted groups is insufficient in the creation of school cultures that are fully open, inclusive, and welcoming to all learners. There is additionally a need to create an inclusive classroom as well as a school where diversity and inclusion become a way of life instead of an initiative where everyone is enriched through understanding and sharing of differences instead of only providing support of differences in the cultures that are fully established and those that reflect the values of dominant groups (Carter,2018). This can also only be achieved through leadership for educational equity and diversity because it creates conditions and spaces that learning communities can use to embrace multiculturalism and diversity as a way of life instead of problems to be solved.

Leadership for educational equity and diversity is also important because, according to Dantley & Tillman (2010), when inclusion turns into a way of life in the school and classroom, teachers and students frequently engage in the complex work of honestly facing incidences of racism, injustice, and discrimination in the school environment and accepting their responsibility for the development of school cultures that support, respect and sustain diversity as an embraced school life aspect. Encouraging teachers to deeply reflect on multiculturalism, diversity, and how leadership plays a significant role in the creation of an equitable and meaningfully more leveled learning environment for students who are historically disadvantaged. Principals are also the most important individuals in establishing whether a school will embrace inclusion or not; hence, there is a need to encourage leadership for educational equity and diversity (DeMatthews, 2015). Blount (2013) argues that principals have different orientations and opinions connected to inclusivity and social justice. They may decide to promote a full inclusion program in which all learners are included in the classroom regardless of their differences.

Diversity and the Foundational Concepts That Underlie Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

Diversity is currently a universal term within the education sector, usually promoted with inclusion as a second concept appearing in current practices and policy discussions. One of the diversity and foundational concepts that underlie leadership for educational diversity and equity is the creation of inclusive schools. Such schools have unique attributes, which include having formal structures in which educators use both informal and formal data to track the progress of students, review data trends, make action plans and interventions to meet the expectations of learners and solve problems when students fail to meet expectations (Bensimon et al., 2015). According to McLeskey et al. (2012), there are specific factors contributing to a highly effective inclusive learning institution with two themes, which are mainly instructional quality, organizational and administrative features, and student support. These themes are dictated by student expectations, flexible and efficient use of resources arising from school schedules that are strategically developed, high-quality instruction, and a shared process of making decisions during which there is no micromanagement of teachers and teachers can access data and are held accountable by their principal and one another.

Other diversity and the foundational concepts that underlie leadership for educational equity and diversity include leadership focused on the improvement of school structures through the elimination of segregated and pullout programs, the development of portfolios for monitoring the progress of students, and detracking academic courses (Dematthews, 2015). Another set of concepts is the enhancement of staff capacity by focusing on professional development on instructional strategies and creating better strategies to address issues relating to social justice, equity, and race. The other set of concepts is the strengthening of the school community and culture through the creation of a welcoming and warm climate inviting the community and parents into the school. DeMatthews (2015) argues that principals are in charge of setting directions, managing the expectations of learners and educators, and managing the performance of teachers and learners.

Conclusion

Leadership for educational equity and diversity is an important concept in the education sector because it focuses on dictating the school culture. This research demonstrates that effective leadership for educational equity and diversity can improve the experiences of both teachers and learners in the learning environment. The study also demonstrates that diversity and the foundational concepts that underlie leadership for educational equity and diversity revolve around creating a study environment that ensures that teachers respect inclusion and contribute to eliminating any barriers to diversity and inclusion. The study additionally demonstrates that achieving diversity and inclusion in the education sector requires the involvement of the entire learning community, which consists of parents, teachers, and students, and this community ought to be involved in the decision-making process. There is, however, a need for further research on the connection between diversity and the foundational concepts that underlie leadership for educational equity and diversity to understand how they can be manipulated to create an inclusive education environment.

References

Bensimon, E. M., Dowd, A. C., & Witham, K. (2015). Five Principles for Enacting Equity by Design.

Blount, J. M. (2013). Educational leadership through equity, diversity, and social justice and educational leadership for the privilege imperative. Handbook of Research on Educational Leadership for Equity and Diversity. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203076934.ch1

Carter, P. L. (2018). The multidimensional problems of educational inequality require multidimensional solutions. Educational Studies, 54(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2017.1409225

Dantley, M. E., & Tillman, L. C. (2010). Social Justice and Moral Transformative Leadership, in C. Marshall & O. Maricela. Leadership for Social Justice, 19-31.

DeMatthews, D. (2015). Clearing a Path for Inclusion Distributing Leadership in a High Performing Elementary School. Journal of School Leadership, 25(2015).

Egbo, B. (2009). Teaching for Diversity in Canadian Schools. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Khalifa, M. (2020). Culturally responsive school leadership. Harvard Education Press.

McLeskey, J. M., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L. (2012). Inclusion: Effective practices for all students. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Rayner, S. (2009). Educational diversity and learning leadership: A proposition, some principles, and a model of inclusive leadership? Educational Review, 61(4), 433-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910903404004

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Write a formal essay. In the introduction, clearly state the problem that equity leadership addresses. Your thesis statement should include key concepts from class. Write with evidence-based claims. The paper should be 4 pages long, not including the title page or reference page.

Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

Importance of Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity and the Foundational Concepts That Underlie Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

Importance of Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity

Diversity and the Foundational Concepts That Underlie Leadership for Educational Equity and Diversity