If You Check Yourself, You Won’t Wreck Yourself! Developing and Testing a Culturally Responsive School Leadership Checklist for Principals

Abstract

Culturally responsive school leadership synthesizes multiple leadership theories to make schools equitable and inclusive within a racialized educational system. Principals have the most influence and accountability in schools. Their actions create and sustain a culture that is inclusive of minoritized students.This qualitative study assessed the efficacy of designing and implementing a culturally responsive school leadership checklist tool that provided principals with a means to promote greater self-reflection, culturally responsive teaching, and engagement with community and student contexts. I developed and tested a reflective tool for principals to apply culturally responsive leadership in their daily practice. I designed this culturally responsive school leadership checklist to help principals critically reflect on their actions and ensure their decisions align with culturally responsive principles. The checklist provides a framework for principals to evaluate their leadership decisions regularly, promoting intentionality and alignment with best practices to address the diverse needs of their school communities. After testing the checklist, one major finding was that principals found critical self-reflection enhanced their perception of their effectiveness as culturally responsive school leaders. Principals also found that the checklist enhanced their communication skills, particularly when advocating for cultural responsiveness at their schools and speaking to families and teachers. The checklist enabled the principals to provide better feedback for their teachers to implement culturally responsive teaching. It also enabled the principals to envision new approaches to professional development, student discipline, and accessing minoritized student voices and perspectives.