Instructional Staff Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Leadership

The rise of accountability standards has resulted in an increase of attention regarding the academic achievement of minority student populations. Instructional leadership styles that operate within frameworks that specifically address race and ethnicity have been shown to be positively correlated with academic outcomes of both majority and minority student populations. Culturally responsive leadership is one of these frameworks. While the literature offers a robust vision of the behaviors and subsequent results of culturally responsive leadership, we do not yet know the perceptions held by instructional staff regarding the culturally responsive leadership of their school leader. This lack of knowledge can not only hinder the ability of school leaders to respond appropriately in various situations, but it can also pose a threat to the perceived legitimacy of ones’ leadership. The purpose of this study was to understand the range of perceptions that instructional staff hold regarding the culturally responsive behaviors of their school leader. I conducted a qualitative single site case study focusing on the instructional staff of a school in the Midwest to learn what perceptions are held by instructional staff regarding the culturally responsive behaviors of their school leader. In this study, I found that the perceptions participants had regarding the culturally responsive leadership of their school leader was not specific to the school leader (principal) but instead reflective of interactions held with a variety of individuals (principal. assistant principal, and instructional coach). I found that initial perceptions did change over time and could be contextualized through a conceptual change framework. I also found that the notion of safety played a part in determining if initial perceptions would change or not change. Though not in response to a specific research question, I did identify a repeated occurrence of goal displacement that was viewed across all three guiding research questions. This research provides a basis for exploring teacher perceptions of culturally responsive behaviors of their school principal and identified that there are still opportunities for further research within this topic