The racial diversity of children in US public schools continues to increase while most teachers and school leaders are White. In addition, systemic racism, whitewashing of curricula, microaggressions, and deficit mindsets persist within schools across the country. These pervasive injustices that plague the student experiences of children of the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how public middle school administrators described the special education training they received to engage in social justice leadership to support, lead, and enable successful outcomes of special education programs in their school. The theoretical foundation utilized was the social…

The current sociopolitical context of the United States has created a divide among the nation which has transpired into Kindergarten-12th grade public school settings. Throughout the United States school boards of education have banned books and Critical Race Theory while attacking social justice teaching pedagogies. Presently, there is growing…

Public-school student enrollment is ever changing. Therefore, school librarians must adapt their instructional practices to meet the needs of culturally diverse student populations. This study employed a survey to explore U.S. school librarians' beliefs about culturally responsive teaching (CRT), as well as the CRT practices used within their…

The purpose of the study was to examine if a relationship exists between productive giftedness and social justice leadership in leaders of high-poverty schools. The following research question guided this study: Is there a relationship between productive giftedness and social justice leadership in leaders of high-poverty schools? In the study, 113…

This dissertation explores the well-being of public K-12 teachers in the United States who explicitly identify as anti-racist and/or anti-colonial teachers. Well-being has traditionally been conceptualized as attached to single human individuals in most Western academic scholarship. However, drawing on insights from the posthumanisms, community…

Public schools in the United States are serving a more heterogeneous student population than ever before. Despite numerous educational reform efforts, opportunity gaps persist between marginalized students and their White peers. Deep-seated barriers make it difficult for districts, schools, and especially site principals to effectively implement…

This study used a qualitative action research approach to engage a group of secondary English teachers in a collective inquiry to determine the best model for transformative teacher reflexivity and dialogue. Through solution-focused conversation, the goal was to design a sustainable framework for professional development that fosters creative,…

The present study examined the professional experiences of school psychologists who self-identify as having a social justice orientation in their practice, using semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. Themes related to varying levels of service delivery (individual and systemic), occupational barriers, such as lack of time, resources, and…

Though Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training (DEI) has proliferated, facilitators still seek effective tools to support the growth of anti-racist consciousness in participants. An avenue with great promise around these needs is how shared reflexive vulnerability can promote the growth of this consciousness. Using the tools of microethnographic…

This quantitative comparison study was conducted to determine if there is a significant difference in multicultural and social justice competencies (MSJCC) between urban and rural school counselors in Pennsylvania. The purpose of the study was to discover how school counselors in different geographical areas assess their work within a…

This dissertation examines the lived experiences of Black men credentialed to be assistant principals and principals within a southeastern, urban public school district based upon the philosophies of equity and social justice. Through a qualitative constructivist approach, this research explores their experiences in and with education and how it…

Novice public-school principals face tremendous external pressures (e.g., high-stakes accountability, market forces, legitimization) and internal pressures (e.g., identity (re)construction, identity verification, authenticity) in the enactment of their role as a novice principal. These pressures converge in the dissonance of competing values,…

Since 2008 high school students in Buenos Aires, Argentina have consistently occupied their schools to criticize budget cuts to public education, demand repairs to deteriorating buildings, slow the standardization of their curriculum, and foster their inclusion in the educational decision-making process. By 2012, over 30,000 students occupied more…

The purpose of this action research study is to understand how public school district administrators' leadership styles impact the success of high school Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. I used the action research model which included a literature review, Cycle 1 interviews and data analysis, and Cycle 2 action step…