Ruby N. Turalba
San Francisco State University
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Ruby N. Turalba, MPH is a second-generation Pinay; a grandchild/daughter/mother/sister/wife; an educator/ally/mentor who has taught Public Health at San Francisco State University since 2010; a doctorate student in Educational Leadership researching Filipinx students; and much more! In all of her personal and professional commitments, Ruby works for community, health, and justice!

Paper Title: Nagugutom Sila/They’re Hungry: Affirming Filipina/x/o Students’ Identities with Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy
Abstract: Hegemonic educational practices have roots in Western imperialism and U.S. colonial rule effectually marginalizing and invisibilizing Filipina/x/o students, and contributing to academic inequities and poor mental health. The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences, impacts, and meanings of cultural and linguistically responsive pedagogy that affirms Filipina/x/o students’ identities. Qualitative data analysis from interviews, a public hearing, and program artifacts demonstrates that culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy fosters positive identity development, confidence, and sense of belonging for Filipina/x/o students. Implications can inform leadership decisions of programs and policies that build upon and sustain students’ cultural and linguistic wealth.
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James Lamar Foster
University of Washington

James Lamar Foster is a Ph.D. Candidate at The University of Washington. His work investigates questions at the intersections of race, place, policy, and practice. His current research uses analytical techniques from critical theory and organizational theory to understand how school leaders create conditions to foster marginalized students' social-emotional development.

Paper Title: School Leaders’ Use of Social Emotional Learning for Racial Justice: A Critical Frame Analysis
Abstract: This article examines how school leaders connect Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) with anti-racist practices. There is little in current literature to describe how leaders support race-conscious approaches to SEL that promote marginalized students’ well-being, particularly with White teachers who often resist learning about race and Whiteness. We conducted a qualitative study of three leaders in one district in the Puget Sound region of Washington state. The first data collection and analysis phase drew from interviews, observations, and artifacts from a larger anti-racist leadership study to identify anti-racism and SEL intersections and three associated leaders. In the second phase, we conducted additional interviews with the three leaders and performed a critical frame analysis to characterize the frames used by leaders to shape what SEL means and who it serves. We portray three anti-racism SEL intersections in which leaders made explicit connections between SEL and broader anti-racist goals within their work with White teachers. We found that leaders used three distinct frames to shape what SEL meant: 1) SEL as an onramp to anti-racist work, 2) SEL for dealing with whiteness, and 3) SEL for disrupting colorblindness. These race-conscious SEL leadership examples detail how leaders might support White teachers to confront their own racism while implementing SEL that affirms students’ racialized experiences and identities.

Meagan Richard
University of Illinois at Chicago
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Meagan Richard is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she currently works as a Research Assistant with the Center for Urban Educational Leadership. Her research centers around emancipatory forms of school leadership in urban settings. In particular, her dissertation research examine how emancipatory leadership is shaped by educational market contexts in seven urban school districts across the United States.

Paper Title: Social Justice Leadership in Educational Market Contexts
Abstract: As school districts increasingly incorporate competitive educational market policies, some scholars warn that schooling and school leadership is shifting to emphasize competition and individualism over equity and social justice. A growing body of research has examined how market contexts shape school leadership, with much of the research claiming that these contexts encourage leaders to engage in unjust action in response to competitive pressures. However, research has not yet investigated how market contexts shape emancipatory leadership, specifically. This is problematic because emancipatory leaders engage in unique practices and face unique barriers in their work; it is likely that market contexts may shape their leadership practice in unique ways as yet uncovered. To address this gap, this dissertation study utilized a sequential explanatory, mixed-methods design in which a survey followed by in-depth interviews with school leaders across seven U.S. school districts provided insights into how educational markets shape and interact with emancipatory leadership practice. Findings revealed that emancipatory leaders’ experiences in markets vary widely across school contexts and tend to be resistant to pressures to engage in the unjust and superficial practices demonstrated in other literature described above. Most importantly, this research provided examples of how emancipatory leaders use socially-just, authentic, and relationship-oriented practices to respond to market pressures. These examples are highly relevant for current practitioners and those in training; regardless of our beliefs related to educational market schemes, these policies are only growing in favor across the U.S. and, pragmatically, it is helpful to consider how social justice and markets may co-exist.

Sarah D. Lent
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sarah D. Lent served as a special educator and school leader in Chicago, IL and Brooklyn, NY before starting her PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sarah's research examines antiracist school leadership, investigates how educators adopt antiracist beliefs and practices, and the role whiteness plays.

Paper Title: From Principals to Practice: An Examination of How Teachers Adopt Antiracist Attitudes and Practices
Abstract: This study explores in what ways white principals committed to antiracist education influenced and shaped teachers' antiracist behaviors and practices and the role whiteness plays. Furthermore, it examines what additional factors teachers attribute to this influence. A multi-site case study permitted multiple methods of data collection. Three white principals from different schools within the same district participated in addition to multiple educators (teachers and other staff that work directly with students) at each site. Antiracism and Critical Whiteness are utilized as theoretical and conceptual frameworks to investigate the role whiteness plays in educators' commitment, behavior, and practices concerning antiracist education. Exploring this relationship is especially timely given the increase in national attention to race and (anti)racism and conversation surrounding how educators are responding in the current school year. This study holds implications for antiracist leadership specifically for white principals as well as recommendations for further research.