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theses

Urban public schools have unique challenges that require dedicated, passionate, and resilient school leaders. These leaders must remain focused and committed to confront educational disparities (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Policy makers devise educational initiatives to hold school principals accountable and place enormous pressures on them to increase student performance (Farver & Holt, 2015; Spillane & Hunt, 2010; Warren & Higbee, 2007). These school leaders are also expected to make significant changes within limited time frames (Lambert, 2002). The shift of school leaders from manager to change agent requires educational leadership scholars’ analysis of prevailing assumptions about the world in which we live and how issues of social injustice influence the educational outcomes of certain populations of students. The field’s understanding the role that schools play in responding to issues of discrimination, inequities, and social injustice would help to uncover the professional learning that an urban school leader needs in order to be effective in their role. Focusing professional development efforts solely on raising test scores, results in underdeveloped urban principals. Underdeveloped school leaders will instead, reproduce inequities unless there are intentional and deliberate efforts to confront systems of oppression within school and society (Khalifa, 2018). This study will examine current professional development experiences of urban principals and how they lead for social justice to lay the groundwork for creating professional learning opportunities that build urban principals’ awareness and amplify their voices as advocates for social justice.

ETD_10260

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

doi:10.7282/t3-nr5x-yw63

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.