The work and role of Black Canadian principals are essential to schools because we know that, among other things, students thrive when they see themselves reflected within the educator workforce (Grissom et al., 2021; James, 2010; James & Turner, 2017). To gain a better understanding of Black leaders’ work, we had conversations with Black school leaders in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia between 2023 and 2024. It was part of a larger multinational study in British Columbia, Ontario, the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, and Grenada and Jamaica in the Caribbean. Although all of the Canadian participants took great pleasure in their work and held strong commitments to their work, they described their experiences as complex and stressful. In this article, we present some of their experiences and thoughts on the hidden work and complexities of Black Canadian school leaders’ work.
Being the First
Black school leaders who spoke with us indicated that they represented many firsts: First in their family to attend post-secondary education and/or enter the educator workforce; first Black principal or vice-principal in their district school board; first principal or vice-principal of their school; first principal or vice-principal in any secondary school in the board; first Black leader consultant for their district school board; and first Black superintendent for their district school board. Being the first meant that they had to navigate rough waters in isolation while blazing the trail for other aspiring Black school leaders. This trailblazing, however, inevitably came with hidden work, many unknowns, and wellbeing costs.
Overcompensating
Despite the Black leaders we spoke with having the necessary qualifications for their position—in fact the majority were overqualified with several graduate degrees and other additional qualifications—many reported being queried or challenged about their qualifications for their leadership position because some educators and school community members believe that they were not qualified for their role and, in some circumstances, they were told that they were hired only because of their race. Managing these racist assumptions creates hidden work for Black principals. Black leaders we spoke with described meticulously writing and revising work correspondences (e.g., emails, school notices, formal letters) to avoid any mistakes and miscommunication. Some shared practising ahead of time their words and demeanour so they do not come across as angry, aggressive, or uninformed to white stakeholders. Still others described running their ideas to white superiors for input before acting to lessen tensions with majority white school staff. These Black leaders felt that people who hold inaccurate and biased assumptions about their ability or qualifications could use any small errors as evidence to validate their racist assumptions. These are a few of multiple examples that participants described as adding to their workload and their stress levels.
Navigating Essentialized Blackness
Many Black leaders we spoke with also described being expected to represent not only Black people but all other equity-seeking groups, interests, and issues. Some described situations where they had been assigned to lead in a specific school only to receive notice that they were being placed in a different school that was racially diverse and/or required additional support for school improvement. In some circumstances, they were exclusively expected to champion all things related to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonizing (EDID) initiatives or issues. According to some participants, all issues involving Black students, particularly discipline, were automatically routed to them for handling but this was not the case with white students. Many of the Black leaders were specific curriculum experts or specialists in special education and student wellness with the associated qualifications, skills, and knowledge, but it was assumed that they were an EDID expert because they were Black.
Facing Racism
Black school leaders also experience systemic racism in Canadian public education. In addition to structural racism and overtly racist treatment, Black leaders also experience microaggressions at their place of work. According to the National Education Association (2021), microaggressions are
verbal, behavioral, or environmental slights that are the results of an individual’s implicit bias. They are often automatic or unintentional and occur on a daily basis. Microaggressions communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative viewpoints. The use of microaggressions perpetuate[s] a worldview of White Supremacy Culture.
In this study, all Black school leaders shared personal experiences of microaggressions directed at them by students, parents, and other educators within the system. Black female school leaders related being constantly challenged by their white staff who do not similarly challenge white, particularly male, school leaders. Others described terse interactions with parents, who questioned their words and actions and sometimes called for other white administrators to intervene. Principals described the tension between feeling deeply upset and needing to remain professional while working with staff who perpetrate racist behaviours. Many described how the continued acts of microaggression challenged their sense of belonging at their school and eroded their sense of safety at work. To counter these microaggressions, many Black leaders engaged in additional and intentional dialogues and courageous conversations in an effort to hold individuals accountable for their actions. This extra equity/advocacy work was cognitive and emotionally gruelling.
Impact on Black Leaders
These experiences complicated Black school leaders’ work in several ways. Like all school leaders, Black school leaders were committed to success for all of the students in their schools; however, they find themselves regularly placed in a heightened advocacy role for Black students and other equity-seeking groups. To be clear, we are not suggesting that Black school leaders do not play vital roles in students’, Black or otherwise, development—all principals should support all students—rather, we are highlighting that advocating for Black students requires additional time, emotional labour, and resources. Further, the assumptions around this practice are also racist. It is assumed that Black leaders’ worth is tied and limited to Black students’ development and the unspoken assumption is that white leaders are better qualified to take charge of white students’ education. Research in the United States has shown how Black American school leaders spend additional time and effort supporting Black students: increasing access for Black students to gifted program, reducing the number of Black students receiving suspensions and expulsion, and improving the academic performance of Black students (Avery 2022; Bartanen & Grissom, 2019; Lomotey, 2019). These leaders also did additional equity work with existing teaching staff to change attitudes toward Black students and focused on hiring more Black teachers—all the while supporting the entire student population. This work required extra time commitment and additional work tasks and was emotionally draining.
Recommendations
Black school leaders in this study engaged in substantial hidden work stemming from systemic racism, workplace microaggressions, and individual prejudice. Creating an equitable and safe work environment for Black school leaders should not be the responsibility of individual Black school leaders; the responsibility rests on everyone, particularly those who are responsible for investigating anti-Black racism, hiring Black principals, and creating safe spaces for Black school leaders. Along these lines, we recommend that boards proactively investigate and act upon incidences of macro and microaggressions that Black principals experience in schools, engage in cluster hiring practices where educators and leaders are hired in groups rather than individually, and create affinity groups – groups created over a commonality that safely offer support, healing and connection – for Black school leaders. It is crucial that those who recruit, hire, retain, and support Black school leaders understand the nature of the latters’ work so that education systems in Canada become places where current and aspiring Black school leaders thrive.
References:
Avery, J. C. (2022). Black females’ lived experiences in obtaining and maintaining high school principal positions [Doctoral dissertation, Tarleton State University]. ProQuest no. 29064442.
Bartanen, B., & Grissom, J. (2019). School principal pace and the hiring and
retention of racially diverse teachers (EdWorkingPaper No, 19-59). The Annenberg Institute at Brown University. https://edworkingpapers.com/ai19-59
Grissom, J. A., Egalite, A. J., & Lindsay, C. A. (2021). How principals affect students and schools: A systematic synthesis of two decades of research. The Wallace Foundation. http://www.wallacefoundation.org/principalsynthesis.
James, C. E. (2010). Seeing ourselves: Exploring race, ethnicity and culture (4th ed.). Toronto Educational Publishing.
James, C. E., & Turner, T. (2017). Towards race equity in education: The schooling of black students in the greater Toronto area. York University.
Lomotey, K. (2019). Research on the leadership of Black women principals: Implications for Black students. Educational Researcher, 48(6), 336–348. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19858619
National Education Association Center for Social Justice. (2021). Implicit bias, microaggressions, and stereotypes resources. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/implicit-bias-microaggressions-and-stereotypes-resources
AUTHORS:
Katina Pollock, Western University
Donna H. Swapp, University of Regina
Annette Walker, Western University
Fei Wang, University of British Columbia
