Multiculturalism and Multilingualism at the Crossroads of School Leadership : Exploring Leadership Theory, Policy, and Practice for Diverse Schools

This volume builds upon emergent understandings about educational leadership and policy in hopes of continuing to refine our understanding of what effective leadership means in linguistically and culturally diverse school contexts. The volume seeks to entrench a deeper understanding of the broader leadership policies and practices that promote the success of linguistically and culturally diverse students, while also recognizing that effective leadership can be highly dependent on context. It offers original empirical research that enhances an understanding of the interdependencies between leadership, culture, language, and policy (i.e., the mechanisms that engender or hinder successful stewardship of linguistic and cultural plurality).

The confluence of school leadership, linguistic diversity, and multiculturalism makes this volume unique, especially considering the pace at which global migration continues to accelerate, coupled with the need to accommodate an array of diverselearning needs in today’s schools.

 

Jon Veenis has considerable experience as both a second language teacher and a school administrator. One of his administrative assignments was part and parcel of a school improvement initiative in an urban district where he served as the local liaison for the school improvement grant. He was awarded the UCEA summer fellowship in 2017 and also served as a UCEA Policy Associate in 2018. This book project was the result of work he completed in service to the aforementioned fellowship where he served under the direction of Dr. Jami Royal Berry at the Center for International Study of Educational Leadership. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the State University of New York (University at Buffalo). His primary research interests include educational policy, comparative education, language policy, and educational equity.       

Sylvia Robertson is a lecturer in Education Studies at the University ofOtago, New Zealand where she teaches in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and is Director of the Centre for Educational Leadership and Administration (CELA). She is a highly experienced primary practitioner who has held teaching and leadership roles in diverse settings in New Zealand, Australia and England. Sylvia has written and presented on the leadership self, teacher effectiveness, and leadership in high-needs settings. Her research interests include leadership preparation, leadership identity, and management of change. At the time of writing, Sylvia is researching the influence of a new educational leadership strategy on school leadership preparation in New Zealand.

Jami Royal Berry is a clinical associate professor in the Educational Administration and Policy Program (EDAP) in the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia, a co-director of the UCEA Center for the International Study of Educational Leadership, and the president of the Georgia Educational Leadership Faculty Association (GELFA). A sought-after consultant, Dr. Berry has written and presented locally, nationally, and internationally on leadership in high needs schools, culturally relevant educational leadership practices, and the cohort model of instruction. Prior to her university service, Berry was a music teacher and elementary school administrator. She remains active in K-12 education through volunteering in local schools and serving as a board member for several education organizations.