|
Sitemap
| Jobs
|
Contact Us
|
Building Smart Education Systems |
Voices in Urban Education
Archives
Educating Vulnerable Pupils
VUE Number 12, Summer 2006
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
EXCERPT:
To Be Young, Gifted, Emotionally Challenged, and Black: A Principal's Role in Developing a Culturally Responsive Context
By Gwendolyn Webb-Johnson
Gwendolyn Webb-Johnson is an associate professor in the department of special education at Texas A&M University.
> Author's Biography
The story of a gifted African American boy named Elijah illustrates the role that principals can and should play to address the needs of underserved youths in a way that builds on their cultural assets and promotes equity.
The performance curtain raised by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has forced our nation's public schools to confront whether, in fact, "all" really means all in the educational attainment of the nation's children and youth. A mandate to disaggregate the data to show how specific groups of children are progressing has highlighted in significant ways the systemic lack of academic success among traditionally underserved pupils, particularly African American learners.
Principals, as instructional leaders, are key actors in championing the commitment to reverse persistent trends of academic failure among these children and youth. Yet the eradication of the achievement gap that separates African American learners from their White peers continues to progress at a very slow pace because few principals understand their role in facilitating the effective education of this dynamic group of children and youth.
The performance data are well known and stark. African American youth are underrepresented in the proficient and advanced levels of academic achievement (NAEP 2005), and overrepresented in discipline, suspension, expulsion, special education referral and placement, and adjudicated youth rates (Harry & Klingner 2005; Skiba et al. 2005; Townsend 2000; Webb-Johnson 2003). Further, they are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs and services (Harris et al. 2004). When they are unsuccessful in the general education environment, they are disproportionately referred to and then designated to receive special education services. Unfortunately, once African American learners receive special education services, their academic progress often persists in being dismal.
Many principals are perplexed as to how to best assist teachers in meeting the academic and behavioral manifestations of this diverse group of learners. Often, principals lack a cultural context to authentically address and impact the challenge. This article will address the role of principals as instructional leaders who engage in relationship building to better understand the academic plight of African American children and youth; build their own knowledge and skill base in understanding the dimensions of African American culture; and support teachers to effectively teach African American children and youth from a "strength" perspective rather than a "deficit" perspective. Finally, an imperative for culturally responsive instructional leadership that addresses the equity and social justice needed to meet the academic needs of African American learners is emphasized.
Archives
Educating Vulnerable Pupils
VUE Number 12, Summer 2006
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
EXCERPT:
To Be Young, Gifted, Emotionally Challenged, and Black: A Principal's Role in Developing a Culturally Responsive Context
By Gwendolyn Webb-Johnson
Gwendolyn Webb-Johnson is an associate professor in the department of special education at Texas A&M University.
> Author's Biography
The story of a gifted African American boy named Elijah illustrates the role that principals can and should play to address the needs of underserved youths in a way that builds on their cultural assets and promotes equity.
The performance curtain raised by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has forced our nation's public schools to confront whether, in fact, "all" really means all in the educational attainment of the nation's children and youth. A mandate to disaggregate the data to show how specific groups of children are progressing has highlighted in significant ways the systemic lack of academic success among traditionally underserved pupils, particularly African American learners.
Principals, as instructional leaders, are key actors in championing the commitment to reverse persistent trends of academic failure among these children and youth. Yet the eradication of the achievement gap that separates African American learners from their White peers continues to progress at a very slow pace because few principals understand their role in facilitating the effective education of this dynamic group of children and youth.
The performance data are well known and stark. African American youth are underrepresented in the proficient and advanced levels of academic achievement (NAEP 2005), and overrepresented in discipline, suspension, expulsion, special education referral and placement, and adjudicated youth rates (Harry & Klingner 2005; Skiba et al. 2005; Townsend 2000; Webb-Johnson 2003). Further, they are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs and services (Harris et al. 2004). When they are unsuccessful in the general education environment, they are disproportionately referred to and then designated to receive special education services. Unfortunately, once African American learners receive special education services, their academic progress often persists in being dismal.
Many principals are perplexed as to how to best assist teachers in meeting the academic and behavioral manifestations of this diverse group of learners. Often, principals lack a cultural context to authentically address and impact the challenge. This article will address the role of principals as instructional leaders who engage in relationship building to better understand the academic plight of African American children and youth; build their own knowledge and skill base in understanding the dimensions of African American culture; and support teachers to effectively teach African American children and youth from a "strength" perspective rather than a "deficit" perspective. Finally, an imperative for culturally responsive instructional leadership that addresses the equity and social justice needed to meet the academic needs of African American learners is emphasized.
|
Annenberg Institute for School Reform Brown University, Box 1985 Providence, RI 02912 |
Telephone: 401.863.7790 Fax: 401.863.1290 |
AISR_info@brown.edu
|
© all material AISR