Culturally Responsive Leadership
Culturally responsive leadership is derived from the concept of culturally responsive pedagogy (Johnson & Fuller, 2014). This derivative involves the philosophies of leaders. It also involves the practices of leaders in school systems and schools. This style of leadership ensures practices and policies are inclusive of all stakeholder groups and the creation of diverse, inclusive, and equitable schooling environments for students and families from ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds (Johnson & Fuller, 2014).
Researchers have constructed an operational definition of culturally responsive leadership within the context of educational leadership. According to Taliaferro (2011), culturally responsive leaders lead with an understanding of how their values and beliefs influence their decisions. The actions of culturally responsive leaders are exhibited by the alignment between verbal commitments to stakeholders and their explicit actions. Sergiovanni (as cited in Taliaferro, 2011) terms this as “synergy of the heart, hand, and head of leadership” (p. 2). Taliaferro (2011) argues that culturally responsive leaders have a multidimensional perspective by understanding how the physical, emotional, and social aspects shape the worldviews from the experiences of stakeholders.
Finally, Gordon and Ronder (2016) offer their definition as the ability to foster and evolve new meanings about diversity, promote inclusive practices in district offices and schools, and bridge connections between education and communities. This type of leader illuminates the vision of a better society and works as an influential change agent to reframe the values and beliefs of others to eliminate conscious and unconscious bias. McKenzie (as cited in Gordon & Ronder, 2016) posits that culturally responsive leaders have a clear understanding of social justice and, therefore, strive to become equally responsive and receptive to various cultural groups. Additionally, the culturally responsive leader has the capacity to engage key stakeholders, utilizing the interconnectedness of powerful relationships to disrupt social unrest. In doing so, culturally responsive leaders have the potential to create solutions that support equitable changes in policies and practices that positively impact the community at large. In this narrative, a demonstration of how these characteristics and traits of being a culturally responsive leader are put into action through the examination of Dr. Lewis, superintendent of schools of a large urban all-charter school district.