Multiculturality and Educational Leadership in Public Schools: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to analyze, through a systematic review, the scientific production regarding the intersection of multiculturalism and leadership in school contexts. Method. Key studies exploring the intersection of both phenomena in public schools are identified, the objectives of the reviewed studies are classified, and the studies are categorized according to their main bibliometric attributes, conceptual approximations to multiculturalism, and positions associated with leadership roles. The review considered 104 documents published in the last 25 years (1994-2019), employing the PRISMA methodology. Results. Results allow the identification of tendencies and challenges for educational research in this field, among which it stands out that most studies focus both on the discourses of school communities facing their problems and on the decision-making processes or actions conducted in these contexts. Likewise, it is noticeable that scientific production is concentrated in anglophone countries (68%), predominantly reporting studies carried out in the US. Similarly, a large proportion of studies address multiculturalism from perspectives centered in indigenous-related topics and identify leadership roles associated with directive/management teams. Conclusions. These results show the need for more studies in scarcely addressed dimensions, particularly considering multiculturalism from the perspective of gender or socioeconomic diversity, as well as addressing school leadership more decisively regarding the role of teachers, considering increasingly more diverse educational scenarios.