ERIC Number: EJ1052138
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Mar
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0042-0859
EISSN: N/A
Do You See What I See? Fostering Aspiring Leaders' Racial Awareness
Gooden, Mark A.; O'Doherty, Ann
Urban Education, v50 n2 p225-255 Mar 2015
Programs preparing culturally responsive school leaders must address how race, power, and individual, institutional, and cultural racism impact beliefs, structures, and outcomes for students of color. To develop greater awareness of race, instructors in a principal preparation program assigned students in a primarily White cohort to compose racial autobiographies. Analysis of these racial autobiographies revealed early racial identity development impacted by racial isolation and family influence. The autobiographies included evidence of growing racial awareness and movement away from racial unconsciousness and colorblindness toward acknowledgment of privilege and commitment to future action. Racial autobiography serves as a useful tool to have students examine their own racial identity--a necessary first step toward building an awareness of race, privilege, and institutional and societal systems of racism and other forms of oppression. Further study will determine what changes in leadership practice, if any, might be attributed to this increased awareness.
Descriptors: Administrator Education, Principals, Race, Autobiographies, Cultural Awareness, Racial Identification, Social Isolation, Family Influence, Racial Bias, Graduate Students, Culturally Relevant Education, Critical Theory, Racial Attitudes, Power Structure, Reflection, Social Action, White Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Department of Education (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A