School Leaders and Antiracism: Overcoming Pedagogical and Political Obstacles

Abstract

In this study school principals acknowledged the manifestations of racism within their schools, but their lack of conceptual clarity led to ambivalence and ambiguities in their practice of antiracism pedagogy. Stakeholders, such as teachers who resisted staff antiracism development initiatives and white parents who withdrew from racially diverse learning environments, further complicated this shortcoming. Principals’ limited conceptual knowledge of antiracism combined with the desire to maintain a culture of harmony restricted their interrogation of racist ideologies and power relations that are embedded in the social, cultural, and political structures of schools. This article recommends that to adequately prepare themselves for the conflictual terrain of antiracism pedagogy, school leaders must acquire adequate conceptual and theoretical knowledge that will inform their transformational tasks. They must also address the contentious issue of a staffing model that reflects racial diversity, that is, one that is supportive of staff development initiatives that tackle race equity and social justice within schools.