This document discusses building capacities for social justice leadership through teacher leadership. It describes how schools will increasingly enroll students from diverse backgrounds who face challenges like poverty, learning disabilities, and diverse family structures. It emphasizes that teacher leadership is the process by which teachers influence their colleagues and school communities to improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of increased student achievement. Key aspects discussed include teacher action research, equity frameworks, and equity audits to examine how to close achievement and opportunity gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged student groups.

1. BUILDING CAPACITIES FOR
Social Justice
Leadership
THROUGH

2. THE

3. THE OF
“Ensuring all students attain the skills,
knowledge,
SCHOOLS
and disposition they will need to be successful
in
the world that awaits them”
LIEBERMAN & MILLER, 2004, P.6

4. THE

5. THE OF
Schools will enroll a disproportionate number
of children who:
SCHOOL
S

6. THE OF
Schools will enroll a disproportionate number
of children who:
Live in Poverty SCHOOL
S

7. THE OF
Schools will enroll a disproportionate number
of children who:
Live in Poverty SCHOOL
S
Come from diverse backgrounds and family structures

8. THE OF
Schools will enroll a disproportionate number
of children who:
Live in Poverty SCHOOL
S
Come from diverse backgrounds and family structures
Experience learning disabilities

9. TEACHER LEADERSHIP

10. TEACHER LEADERSHIP
“Teacher leadership is the process by which teachers,
individually or collectively, influence their colleagues,
principals, and other members of school communities to
improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of
increased student learning and achievement”
YORK-BARR & DUKE, 2004, P. 288

11. University of Central Florida University of Montevallo
Primary University Service Urban Suburban and Rural
Area(s)
Program Began Fall 2008 Fall 1999
Degree Offered M.Ed. Ed.S.
State Endorsed Teaching No Yes‐Class AA
CertiJicate
Admission Requirements • An undergraduate degree • A master’s level professional
from an accredited educator certiJicate in any
university teaching Jield or area of
• A 3.0 Grade Point Average instructional support.
(GPA), earned in the last 60
• A minimum of three full
hours of their years of full‐time teaching
undergraduate degree experience in a P‐12 setting.
program
• A portfolio containing:
• Three letters of
• A valid Florida Professional recommendation.
CertiJicate • Evidence of ability to
positively affect
student achievement.
• Evidence of
collaborative
leadership potential.
Hours 33‐Hours 30‐Hours
• 18 Core • 24 Core
• 15 Specialization • 6 Elective
Comprehensive Exam Comprehensive Exam and Capstone Action Research
Capstone Action Research Sequence with Equity Audit and
Sequence with Equity Audit Oral Defense

12. University of Central Florida University of Montevallo
Primary University Service Urban Suburban and Rural
Primary Service Area
Area(s)
Program Began Fall 2008 Fall 1999
M.Ed. Ed.S.
Program Began
Degree Offered
State Endorsed Teaching No Yes‐Class AA
CertiJicate
Degree Offered Admission Requirements • An undergraduate degree • A master’s level professional
from an accredited educator certiJicate in any
university teaching Jield or area of
instructional support.
State Endorsed Teaching Certificate A 3.0 Grade Point Average
•
(GPA), earned in the last 60
• A minimum of three full
hours of their years of full‐time teaching
undergraduate degree experience in a P‐12 setting.
Admission Requirements •
program
A valid Florida Professional
• A portfolio containing:
• Three letters of
recommendation.
CertiJicate
Hours
• Evidence of ability to
positively affect
student achievement.
• Evidence of
Comprehensive Exam collaborative
leadership potential.
Hours 33‐Hours 30‐Hours
• 18 Core • 24 Core
• 15 Specialization • 6 Elective
Comprehensive Exam Comprehensive Exam and Capstone Action Research
Capstone Action Research Sequence with Equity Audit and
Sequence with Equity Audit Oral Defense

13. TEACHER ACTION RESEARCH

14. TEACHER ACTION RESEARCH
“Teacher-researchers raise questions about what they
think and observe about their teaching and their
students' learning. They collect student work in order
to evaluate performance, but they also see student
work as data to analyze in order to examine the
teaching and learning that produced it”
MARION MACLEAN & MOHR, 1999, P. X

15. EQUITY
FRAMEWORK
FOR ACTION RESEARCH
seeks to examine ways topromote equity and
excellence in education by identifying ways to close
close
the gaps that exist in students’ access to
opportunities to learn as well as achievement
between advantaged groups and disadvantaged
groups.

16. EQUITY
FRAMEWORK
FOR ACTION RESEARCH
seeks to examine ways topromote equity and
excellence in education by identifying ways to close
close
the gaps that exist in students’ access to
opportunities to learn as well as achievement
between advantaged groups and disadvantaged
groups.

17. EQUITY
FRAMEWORK
FOR ACTION RESEARCH
seeks to examine ways topromote equity and
excellence in education by identifying ways to close
close
the gaps that exist in students’ access to
the gaps
opportunities to learn as well as achievement
between advantaged groups and disadvantaged
groups.

18. THE SCHOOL SURVEY
(EQUITY AUDIT)
The survey confronts “school conditions that encourage
or impede effective teaching of diverse students which
can be grouped into four categories: shared beliefs and
values, teachers' professional learning opportunities,
leaders' behaviors, and school-wide policies and
processes”
(TDSI, 2010)

19. THE SCHOOL SURVEY
(EQUITY AUDIT)
The survey confronts “school conditions that encourage
or impede effective teaching of diverse students which
can be grouped into four categories: shared beliefs and
values, teachers' professional learning opportunities,
leaders' behaviors, and school-wide policies and
processes”
(TDSI, 2010)

20. EQUITY AUDIT
THEMES

21. EQUITY AUDIT
THEMES
Unaware of Critical School Problems

22. EQUITY AUDIT
THEMES
Unaware of Critical School Problems
Aware of Critical School Problems
without Equity

23. EQUITY AUDIT
THEMES
Unaware of Critical School Problems
Aware of Critical School Problems
without Equity
Aware of Critical School Problems
and Inequity

24. REFLECTION QUOTES
1

25. REFLECTION QUOTES
1
“To be honest, I have never really given these things much
thought until I began my coursework for the Urban Education
Master’s program. Once you are asked such questions and
forced to thoroughly pay attention to specific details,
conversation, and actions you start to notice things that have
probably always been there, yet never struck you as strange
until now. As I began to think back, I realized that my school
experiences have been plagued with minor discrepancies that
seemed to be normal, when in fact it was extremely prejudicial
and only benefitted certain people of a certain race. Shocking, I
know, but this survey really caused you to think about such
issues.”

26. REFLECTION QUOTES
2

27. REFLECTION QUOTES
2
“At the completion of this survey, I realized that most of the
questions in the survey as well as most of the ones regarding
school policies resulted in a negative answer. I wondered why
that was and what can be done to change that outcome. Though
these were hard hitting questions, it is important that they were
asked. I imagine that this survey will rattle a few cages and make
people uneasy, but they had to be asked. Unfortunately, I think
that it’s going to take a lot more than a survey, but I definitely
think that this is a great start because it will bring about
awareness and hopefully force a change in a place that
desperately needs it.”

28. REFLECTION QUOTES
3

29. REFLECTION QUOTES
3
“These questions were designed to promote specific, thoughtful
reflection on aspects of school culture and practice as they
pertain to issues of equity and social justice. The authors of the
survey seem to reflect Rawls’s understanding of social justice,
as discussed in Theoharis (2009)….[sic] I was not surprised by
the content of the questions as I am already familiar with the
ways that social justice, or injustice, can manifest itself in a
classroom or in a school. The issues that are important to the
faculty, staff, and administration are often discussed.
Opportunity is a precious resource, and the way that a school
manages the distribution of it reveals the principles it holds dear.
Leaders offer training on important issues. Teachers act in ways
that reflect their beliefs.”

30. REFLECTION QUOTES
4

31. REFLECTION QUOTES
4
“The conversations [at my school] about equity have stopped.
Teachers feel the constant and unfamiliar pressure to maintain
pace at the expense of depth and understanding.”

32. REFLECTION QUOTES
5

33. REFLECTION QUOTES
5
“I didn’t find any of the content especially surprising, but instead
appropriate to the topic. What I found surprising was that I did
not know many of the answers as it related to the presence of
racism and the handling of related conflict. My educated guess
says that we do not have significant problems in this area at my
school, or we would be seeing more explicit messages and
curriculum with regards to it. But since little information passes
from the upper grades (where such issues are more prone to
exist) to the primary ones, there may exist situations unknown to
me.”

34. REFLECTION QUOTES
6

35. REFLECTION QUOTES
6
“There is little or no conversation about creating equitable and
socially just classrooms at my school. The questions in the
survey focused on bringing attention to the spoken and
unspoken policies of our schools. Although most educators
would, I believe, respond affirmatively to questions about
policies that support the equitable access to rigor, fairness and
opportunity being present at their schools, I have to wonder how
many would, as I myself did, wonder why we rarely talk about it.”

36. REFLECTION QUOTES
7

37. REFLECTION QUOTES
7
“When discussing data, there is no hesitation to focus on the
racial, ethnic and language groups that are not meeting the
benchmarks on tests. However, discussion on how to ensure
that those students are embraced by the school culture so that
all stakeholders are responsible for raising achievement with
these groups is not mentioned. Our county has become
entrenched in common based plans for improvement in
reading and mathematics. This has led to more ability grouping
than ever before including a tremendous amount of training,
and yet little if any “conversation” on engaging students of
different races and ethnicities into this prescribed curriculum.
The survey questions forced me to realize that there is a
missing piece here and that if we are to motivate students to
want to achieve, then we need to address that cavity in the
system.”

38. SCHOOL SURVEY

39. SCHOOL SURVEY
(#3)Teachers of different races and ethnicity collaborate to
enhance the learning experiences of all students.
(#4)Teachers at this school expect all students to achieve at high
levels and provide them the needed support to do so.
(#5)Teachers and administrators openly reject the idea that
students cannot achieve academically because of conditions
in their homes and communities.
(#6)Teachers and administrators believe that they can
significantly influence students' motivation to learn.
(#7)Teachers help students acquire the skills they need to learn
with and from students of different racial and ethnic groups.

40. THINK-PAIR-
Think
Think about your responses to the selected
school survey questions
Pair with a partner to discuss your responses to
Pair
the questions as well as how you would use the
survey with faculty at your school or students in
Share
your class.
Share one way you and partner anticipate using
the school survey.

41. THINK-PAIR-
Think
Think about your responses to the selected
school survey questions
Pair with a partner to discuss your responses to
Pair
the questions as well as how you would use the
survey with faculty at your school or students in
Share
your class.
Share one way you and partner anticipate using
the school survey.

42. TEACHER
LEADERSHIP AND
FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
Equity-Based Action Research and Program Evaluation
Linking Partners and Encouraged Collaboration
Teachers as Culturally Competent Instructional Leaders
Building Capacity for Intrapersonal Structures
Valuing Differentiated Capacities for Teachers
(Re)conceptualizing Hierarchies as Dynamic Systems for Change
Scaling Within (CORBET & WILSON, 1998)

43. 3-2-1

44. 3-2-1
3
Three things that you have learned from this session

45. 3-2-1
2
Three things that you have learned from this session
Two questions that you still have

46. 3-2-1
1
Three things that you have learned from this session
Two questions that you still have
One aspect of the session that you enjoyed

47. FREE
RESOURCES

48. tolerance.org
FREE
RESOURCES

49. BUILDING CAPACITIES FOR
Social Justice
Leadership
THROUGH