Leading for equity: Educational leadership at the intersection of bilingualism and special education in an urban elementary school
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines how educational leadership is mobilized in efforts to foster equity at the intersection of bilingualism and special education in a large urban U.S. elementary school. Although bilingual education and special education (SPED) have developed robust but largely separate traditions, their convergence remains under-theorized, often rendering emergent bilingual students with disabilities institutionally invisible. Using a critical, practitioner-led interpretive case study informed by transformative leadership and intersectionality, the study analyzes documents, school-based observations, and reflexive practitioner records. The analysis identifies four mutually reinforcing leadership practices: reframing bilingualism as an instructional and interpretive asset; disrupting deficit discourses in referral, IEP, and classroom talk; fostering cross-departmental collaboration between bilingual and SPED structures; and embedding family and community voices in decision-making. These practices are synthesized into an Equity Cycle Model that conceptualizes leadership as an iterative process of discursive, organizational, and relational mediation rather than a one-off intervention. The article suggests that more equity-oriented practice at the bilingual–SPED nexus depends in part on leadership practices that align institutional routines, challenge deficit framing, and widen opportunities for meaningful participation. It contributes a transferable model for intersectional inclusion in resource-constrained urban schools.
Source: Power and Education
Authors: Pablo A. Artero Abellán, Maria B. Abellán
Institutions: Liberty University, Dallas Independent School District
Language: English
Subfield: Linguistics and Language
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $500
OpenAlex ID: W7214069155