0.6 Challenges facing black american principals: a conversation  (Page 9/22)

Most of the principals in this study addressed the transformational leadership model as an appropriate model forhoning their leadership in an academic setting. This was further affirmed by those principals who contend that transformationalleadership is only as successful as the community in which it exists and where school constituents allow the model to beeffective. As one seasoned principal added,“Every model needs to be reviewed every now and then because times change andcircumstances too.”

Another principal added:

The reason that I like this transformational model…and by the way, I actually learned the most about it in the Louisiana Principal Induction Program is that it teaches you thatyou’ve got to balance a lot of different roles. I think one of the hardest things that you must do is live and work withincontradictions or ambiguities within all the roles and still find balance. I was one of those folks who moved from teaching straightinto a principalship in an unacceptable performing school. It is challenging position but I like it. I think it helps that I amsingle and without my own children.

Lomotey (1989) and Monteiro (1977) argue that the success of Black principals in their communities may relylargely on their interactions with the community. According to Lomotey, Black principals seem to place a higher priority oncommunity involvement in the educational milieu than do their White colleagues. They are more inclined, as a group to involve parentsand other community members in school activities and to a degree, in decision making. They view such involvement as fundamental tothe overall success of the school and to their individual success. Black principals are often less threatened by a focus on communityrelations as they tend to relate more closely with the larger community. In Black schools, it is possible that this emphasis ontothe larger community may be a key ingredient in bringing about improved academic performance for Black students. Although it mayappear that Black principals are able to incorporate this relationship in a way that is elusive to principals of other races,many of the study participants stressed the critical importance of educational leaders having the ability to develop self-esteem,facilitate appropriate moral behavior, and instill academic achievement in students even if their race does not match the raceof their students.

When asked the questions:“Do you have a mentor?”“Did that person assist you in professional growth?”“To whom do you turn for advice?”Most survey participants (80%) indicated that they had a mentor who supported them in professionalgrowth and guidance. At the same time, that person was often not the person to whom they turned for advice. The person to whom theysought advice was often referred to as a spouse, significant other, legal advisor, or a member of the clergy. Some of the respondentsindicated mistrust in confiding to a principal colleague but felt greater comfort in speaking to someone of color who holds a higherranking position. This person was frequently referred to as the“dean”or“daddy.”At the same time, 90% of the survey participants indicated that mentors guided them in achieving the goal ofprincipal but only half indicated that these mentors shared the same racial identity as they themselves. A few (20%) principalsindicated they did not have a mentor. They use descriptors such as,“I am ruled by my own drumbeat,”“I ask God to direct my path,”and“No one can let me down but me.”