As educators who are dedicated to laying foundations upon which systems of equity can build, we must look inward with honesty, compassion, and openness. The Leadership Academy recently rebranded a list of six research-based leadership dispositions that are crucial for leaders addressing issues of bias, inequity, and race. One of the dispositions asserts that as leaders, our education equity work must be predicated on our understanding of our own personal values, assumptions, beliefs, and even our own unconscious biases.
An education leader’s honest inward look is the starting point for the transformation of systematic and persistent racism in education. But critical self-reflection is hard work, and it is not for the weak-hearted. It is difficult to look within for the purpose of honestly confronting our biases, challenging our beliefs, and evaluating our relationships. Thankfully, there are resources available to help us traverse this territory. Agencies, consultants, universities, and organizations have professionals who are trained to facilitate difficult conversations that enlighten without casting dispersions or heaping guilt upon us as we discover our biases or realize the privilege we may have been afforded throughout our lifetimes.
The key to unlocking these discoveries to advance equity in education in school districts is a consistent and deliberate delivery system steeped in a sense of urgency. School districts must embed this work in their strategic plans, mission statements, interactions, decision-making and practices. They must attest to this work in a way that holds them accountable, and they must include everyone in the district, from policy makers to educators and support staff. When district staff and stakeholders see that this work does not take a back seat to the budget season, the coronavirus pandemic, or high stakes testing, for example, its importance will register with them. When the evaluation of school leaders includes a measurement of their commitment to equitable outcomes, they will respond. As counter intuitive as it sounds, personal reflection should be mandated and appraised.
I highly recommend that every education leader read the six dispositions listed in The Leadership Academy’s rebranded publication. I point out the disposition of self-reflection in this article, but the others are equally important and worthy of commitment. They challenge us to model equity in our personal lives; strengthen our cultural competence; build up others to do this work; and actively and effectively confront the inequities we seek to change.
If public education is going to transform into a system that is truly equitable, it cannot be business as usual. Radical change is called for and, in this case, as educators, we must be the change we want to see.
The Leadership Academy’s publication on Equity Leadership Dispositions is available here: https://www.leadershipacademy.org/resources/equity-leadership-dispositions-2/