High School Leaders Using Culturally Responsive Leadership to Build Capital for First Generation College Students

Leadership Dynamics In Cultural Contexts: The Role Of Culturally Responsive Leaders In Building Capital For Students

Leadership is a vital skill that all organizations need to provide direction, create development, and help others reach their full potential. Many people believe it is all about vision and a plan to achieve goals toward the future, as most would agree that having a vision and mission is the first step to operating effectively in leadership. While this might be true, there is a challenge— it is not enough, especially for schools. Students and parents/guardians deserve more from school leaders than words about goals and high expectations as they seek authentic guidance and leadership—having leaders who are willing to do the work, which means displaying a level of responsibility that requires support for those within the organization and stakeholders (i.e., students, families, and teachers). School leaders should also possess the ability to influence and have a strong vision to work toward achieving purpose (Eddy & VanDerLinden, 2006). School leaders should possess the ability to create movement within the school environment that transports it to a new direction for improvement and change, such as creating intentional and strategic efforts to build cultural and social capital for students related to college access.

As culture invades all aspects of our lives and environments, an effective leader can use transformational leadership to aid in building opportunities for students to acquire cultural and social capital. Cultures are also made up of people, influencing them and influenced by them; thus, all environments and organizations are influenced by the cultures of the people in them. As such, engaging in culturally responsive school leadership, focusing on how school leaders can effectively serve students who have been historically marginalized in school and society (Khalifa, 2018), becomes primary when considering how to prepare first-generation students for college. A culturally informed and responsive leader should be intentional in their sustained efforts to implement policies and targeted practices and initiatives to address building the cultural and social capital of marginalized students in high school who will identify as first-generation college students.