0.1 Beyond convention, beyond critique: toward a third way of  (Page 7/12)

The development of expertise in fostering equity through professional development often means integrating traditional skills taught in principal preparation programs with value-added skills for equity and social justice. For example, Gleason (2010) adds to the basics of professional development (time, content, appropriate processes, supportive contexts) three additional elements for social justice: a focus on the marginalized, using data to understand how diverse groups learn, and measuring the impact of professional learning on the underserved. Value-added content should be integrated across the principal preparation program. To general research on school improvement must be added research on improvement of schools serving underrepresented groups; to the study of curriculum development must be added examination of the Eurocentric curriculum and the need for a multicultural curriculum; to clinical supervision skills must be added skills for gathering observation data and providing feedback on teachers’ efforts to develop culturally responsive pedagogy, and so on.

Relationship

I place relationship in the center of Figure 2 because I consider relationship the most important part of the model both in pre-service principals’ learning about and in-service principals’ work for equity and social justice (Theoharis, 2007). For an example of building relationships for equity and social justice, let us return to Faith, the culturally responsive leader in Madhlangobe’s (2009) study. Relationship building was Faith’s primary vehicle for culturally responsive leadership. Faith’s other leadership strategies flowed from her relationship building. Although Faith’s personal relationships solved many problems and prevented many others, the really transformational nature of her work was the fostering of others’ relationships: relationships among teachers, between teachers and students, between teachers and parents, among students, and so on.

Faith used a variety of strategies to develop relationships, including (a) empathizing with others, (b) reducing anxiety among teachers and students, (c) respecting others, (d) inspiring responsibility and commitment in others, (e) using humor, (f) being approachable, (g) organizing student testimonies on the power of relationship, (h) demonstrating compassion, and (i) being diplomatic. Running through each of Faith’s strategies was the importance of dialogue in relationship building. Faith continuously engaged in dialogue with students, teachers, parents, and community members, and continuously encouraged dialogue among others.

It makes sense to share strategies like Faith’s with pre-service principals, and to engage students in the type of dialogue that will increase the chances of those strategies being successful in PK-12 schools. However, we need to be careful about what we mean by dialogue for equity and social justice. Some forms of “critical dialogue” can be divisive, pitting students against each other, causing some students to be silenced, and leading to animosity between groups and individuals. It is important, then, for principals to understand what authentic dialogue is all about.