Leadership Experiences of African American Male Secondary Urban Principals: The Impact of Beliefs, Values, and Experiences on School Leadership Practices

This qualitative study examined African American male secondary principals' beliefs, values, and leadership practices that contribute to successful urban schools. Narrative inquiry was used to investigate the factors that influenced the leadership practices -- and related education environment success -- of six African American male public school principals from six different secondary urban schools in Ohio. Findings related to participant input led to three primary conclusions: (a) effective African American male principals address broad social and systemic issues that affect student education and performance; (b) effective African American male principals employ an integrated leadership style; and (c) effective African American male principals embrace the dualism of bureaucrat-administrator and ethno-humanist roles. These findings highlight several implications for consideration: (a) social and systemic issues severely distract African American male urban school leaders from their educational focus; (b) attention needs to be given to the critical dual role of African American male principals; and (c) focus needs to be directed toward developing and then hiring qualified African American male principals