“A miracle in motion” : a multiple case study exploring the leadership development experiences of Black superintendents participating in a national leadership development cohort.

Oftentimes Black superintendents feel inadequately prepared to lead school systems given the focus on leadership development rooted in White hegemonic leadership practices. Leadership development programming frequently integrates these White hegemonic principles to develop educational leaders for diverse school systems’ assets and needs. Moreover, Black superintendents are frequently assigned to school systems with complex and demanding environmental, social, and financial challenges. As a result, Black superintendents do not feel equipped to lead in a manner that is true to their identities while also addressing the unique challenges of the systems they oversee. In a system rooted in White supremacist ideologies, the culture and experiences of Black superintendents are rarely viewed as assets. Thus, systemic barriers perpetuate insufficient opportunities for leadership development for Black leaders who wish to lead for optimal and equitable academic and social student outcomes.

This qualitative multiple-case study sought to investigate and comprehend the leadership development experiences of four Black superintendents who participated in a national leadership development cohort. Using Mezirow’s (1991) transformative learning theoretical framework, participants engaged in semi-structured interviews and permitted artifact analyses of their investigation journals and mirroring conversation transcripts. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the leadership development experiences of Black superintendents participating in a national educational non-profit leadership development cohort. The participant interviews and artifacts provided valuable insight into how participants perceive and experience transformative learning in leadership development.

This study revealed three findings related to leadership capacity-building, leadership introspection, and leadership praxis. First, the data revealed that the national leadership development cohort provided cohort members with capacity-building experiences to foster learning, growth, and development. Second, the data revealed that cohort members refined their leadership frame of reference by engaging in profound introspection through a combination of critical reflection and rational discourse. The data revealed, finally, that a combination of precipitating experiences, critical reflection, and rational discourse alters a person’s frame of reference and has an immediate impact on their leadership praxis. The research findings can be utilized by leadership development specialists, superintendents, and educator associations prioritizing leaders of color to improve their leadership development practices and experiences.