Article
Equity leadership in schools
Educación y Ciencia
(2006)
Abstract
This article documents the initial results of a leadership preparation program in Northern California, at San Jose State University. While transforming schools into equitable learning communities may seem daunting, this paper shows that, not only is it doable, but also possible to sustain it for the long haul. The main thrust of this narrative is that making and sustaining change for equitable schools is directly linked to the existence of dense leadership in schools - a type of extensive network of leaders steeped in equity. This leadership falls on the shoulders of the school’s administrative team whose work is articulated with and through the involvement of teacher leaders.This paper, in fact, explains that equity leadership exists only when a considerable cadre of teacher leaders is present at a particular school. Equity leadership builds teacher capacity by on-going job embedded professional education, and by partnering with university and/or with technical assistant intermediate organizations. A key premise of this paper is, therefore, that meaningful partnerships between institutions of higher education and schools contain a strategic importance for both institutions.From the viewpoint of the university, this article explores some general ideas and specific avenues for the creation of partnerships that might be replicated elsewhere. The paper is organized in two sections. The first section describes the change of the conceptual frame of leadership, and the second delineates the key components of a program that has the potential for implementation regardless of location.
Keywords
- equal education,
- leadership
Disciplines
Publication Date
2006
Citation Information
Gilberto Arriaza and Noni Mendoza Reis. "Equity leadership in schools" Educación y Ciencia Vol. 10 Iss. 34 (2006) p. 7 - 20 ISSN: 2448-525X Available at: http://works.bepress.com/nonimendoza-reis/7/