Building Community in an Urban School District: A Case Study of African American Educational Leadership
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: This case study contributes to a small but growing literature on African American educational leadership. Previous studies have shown that, building on a history of segregated schools for Black students staffed by Black teach - ers in which strong school-family-community relations were essential for the survival of their schools, Black principals understand the predominantly disad- vantaged African American students and families they serve and communicate well with them. The danger of this analysis in the present context of urban diversity is that it leaves open the question of whether Black educational lead- ers understand and communicate well with other ethnic, socioeconomic, and linguistic groups. The present study shows how an African American principal, building on a practice of school and community leadership in separate Black education that involved extensive engagement with White school district of- ficials and other individuals and groups, was able to facilitate communication between disadvantaged Black families and middle-class White teachers and school district officials, with the result that all stakeholders worked together ef - fectively to develop policies and programs that improved student behavior and academic achievement.
Authors: Lionel H. Brown, Kelvin S. Beckett
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2135654788