Diversity, equity, and cultural competence need to be understood and recognized as integral to being a skilled teacher leader. In today’s global and interconnected society, these leaders must be constantly growing in their ability to engage effectively with diverse people and groups who are culturally different from them. They seek to understand culture and its predominate impact on individuals and groups of people and understand how the dominate culture can privilege or oppress individual and groups of people. They must be prepared to take action to: expose and address inequity in the educational system; collaborate purposefully with individuals and groups from other cultures; and work to create and support policies and practices that give rise to equitable learning environments.
Also in this section:
- Overarching leadership Competencies
- Association Leadership Competencies
- Policy Leadership Competencies
- Instructional Leadership Competencies
Explore and Challenge Inequity
| Emerging | Developing | Performing | Transforming |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Explore and acknowledge their personal identity and cultural background. • Explore and acknowledge the cultural groups in their immediate setting and broader environment. • Explore and acknowledge that inequities exist. • Acknowledge their limited skills and organizational practices when interacting with other cultural groups. • Engage in ongoing self-education to learn about other cultures. | • Realize and understand that forms of oppression and inequities such as racism, sexism, classism, etc. are real experiences that need to be addressed. • Recognize their limited skills or organizational practices when interacting with other cultural groups. • Engage in ongoing self-assessment, self-education, and self-reflection. | • Respond consistently in an appropriate and effective manner to challenge inequities. • Engage proactively with hidden and/or subtle equity issues that have not gained major attention. • Purposefully promote equitable practices within their environments of influence such as classrooms, schools, districts, associations, and/or communities. | • Model, propose, design, and/or implement equitable policies and practices to promote diversity and inclusion. • Advocate for and facilitate changes into the systems of the organization such as in the classroom, school, district, association, and/or community. • Persuade and support colleagues and other stakeholders to seek and engage in equitable practices. |
| Evidence Indicators of growth at the emerging stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Determine persona identity and cultural background. • Determine cultural identities and differences among individuals in their setting and broader environment such classroom, school, district, association, and/or community. • Identify inequities that exist in their setting based on cultural differences. • Determine and acknowledge their personal beliefs and biases (conscious and unconscious) toward various cultural groups. • Engage in ongoing self-education regarding cultural differences. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the developing stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Identify and explain which culture(s) are dominant and privileged in their environments. • Identify culturally dominant practices create inequities for other cultural groups. • Apply knowledge of cultural differences among individuals in their environment to plan, implement, and/or adapt practices to address inequities. • Engage in ongoing self-education and self reflection regarding cultural differences and equity. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the performing stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Identify situation(s) of inequity, discrimination, and other social injustice in order to mediate, and/or intervene within their environment: this may include self-correcting. • Share with others evidence of hows culturally dominant practices create inequities among other cultural groups. • Intentionally create opportunities that raise awareness for individuals of different cultures to explain and/or present alternative solutions to issues of inequity or social injustice. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the transforming stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Work with one or more persons of different cultural groups to advocate for change that results in more equitable practices. • Work with one or more persons of different cultural groups to advocate for policies that result in increased access to diversity and equity, either within or beyond their environment. |
Collaborate Purposefully
| Emerging | Developing | Performing | Transforming |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Recognize the differences among, between, and within cultural groups. • Acknowledge the cultural groups that are present and absent in their collaborative group settings. • Recognize and understand strengths and limitations of their collaboration skills and/or organizational practices when interacting with other cultural groups. • Engage in ongoing self-education and self-reflection. | • Develop and exhibit an appreciation and acceptance for the differences among, between, and within cultural groups. • Explain the value and benefits of including other cultural groups in their collaborative groups. • Explain the strengths and limitations of their skills and/or organizational practices when interacting with other cultural groups. • Engage in ongoing self-education, self-reflection, and self improvement. | • Create and support regular opportunities for stakeholders of all cultures to contribute their knowledge, skills, and perspectives in a variety of ways. • Apply a deep understanding of the importance of diversity and equity when guiding and supporting the work of diverse cultural groups. • Determine and implement a plan to overcome obstacles and/or resistance. | •Facilitate and/or inspire others to create alliances with individuals and different cultural groups, leading to organizational and/or systemic change. • Inspire others to create alliances with individuals and groups to challenge inequitable policies and social injustice practices that impact underserved or marginalized cultural groups. • Facilitate projects or presentations that challenge inequitable policies and social injustice practices to impact underserved or marginalized cultural groups. |
| Evidence Indicators of growth at the emerging stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Demonstrate an awareness of the differences between, among, and within cultural groups. • Conduct a cultural audit and/or survey of their personal groups to identify the demographics: Which cultures are present and absent? • Recognize the need for flexibility, adaptation and cross-cultural communication skills when interacting with other cultural groups. • Recognize interactions with individuals and groups of different cultural backgrounds rather than their own because of their intentional desire to understand different perspectives. • Recognize and acknowledge limitations of their skills and practices when engaging with other cultural groups, and engage through ongoing self-education. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the developing stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Create learning environments for students and/or adults to include and value cultures beyond their own. • Involve students, parents, colleagues, and/or community members from various cultures to create opportunities and activities that celebrate and value cultural differences. • Explain the limitations of their skills and practices when engaging with other cultural groups and take steps to adjust behavior based on self- reflection. • Assesses their skills and practices when engaging with other cultural groups and engage in ongoing self education, self improvement, and self- reflection. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the performing stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Create or facilitate involvement for stakeholders from across cultures in significant planning, data gathering, data analyzing, and/or decision making processes. • Guide cultural group dynamics in setting goals and/or solving problems. • Model the importance of using diversity and equity to guide work and/or achieve goals. • Identify and explain the shared visions, shared goals, shared perspectives, shared work habits, and/or shared interpretations of success. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the transforming stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Invite, include, or promote leadership roles within the school, district, and/or association for individuals and/or groups historically underserved or marginalized in that setting or broader environment. • Work collaboratively with individuals and/or groups across cultures toward a specific improvement goal and/or policy change. |
Cultivate Socially Just Learning Environments
| Emerging | Developing | Performing | Transforming |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Acknowledge and appreciate the differences among, between, and within cultural groups in their setting and broader environment. • Recognize issues that arise in diverse environments that prevent cultivation of socially just learning environments. • Explore information about socially just learning environments | • Understand and value the differences among, between, and within cultural groups in their setting and broader environment • Understand issues that impede socially just learning environments. • Prepare to handle social injustices in the learning environment ethically and effectively. • Explore through self-education and self-reflection about socially just learning environments. | • Create ongoing support for regular opportunities for stakeholders of all cultures to contribute their knowledge, skills, and perspectives in a variety of ways. • Strategize and implement plans to effectively create and/or support socially just learning environments. • Lead others, including those of other cultures, to advocate for more innovative and creative ways to cultivate socially just learning environments. • Engage in self education and self reflection about socially just learning environments. | • Propose policies and practices through collaboration with others to support diversity and inclusion that drives changes into the school, district, and/or association’s system. • Inspire and/or support others, including those of other cultures, to advocate for more innovative and creative methods to cultivate socially just learning environments. • Facilitate the establishment of networks of socially just learning environments. • Engage in self education, self improvement, and self-reflection for socially just learning environments. |
| Evidence Indicators of growth at the emerging stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Provide evidence of recognition and celebration of cultural diversity as an expectation in their immediate environment. • Identify issues that impede the cultivation of socially just learning environments. • Demonstrate an awareness of characteristics of socially just environments. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the developing stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Create socially just learning environments that address diverse cultural issues. • Create or maintain through collaboration with stakeholders effective protocols to facilitate respectful cross-cultural communication and meaningful participation of diverse stakeholders. • Respond to specific examples of cross-cultural miscommunication, inequity, and/or social injustice in constructive ways. • Reflect on their behavior and establish a goal to become more socially just. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the performing stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Use contributions from stakeholders of cultures in addition to their own to plan, deliver, assess, or reflect on establishing socially just learning environments. • Share the importance of developing the plans and models to effectively create socially just learning environments. • Reflect on their behavior and changes to become more socially just. • Use self-reflective practices to self-assess growth in issues about diversity, equity, and cultural competence. | Evidence Indicators of growth at the transforming stage include, but are not limited to, the following evidence: • Work for changes in policy or practice at system levels that provide historically underserved or marginalized stakeholders significant influence; e.g., leadership roles in functions of those systems. • Cooperate with individuals of other cultures to make an existing educational system more democratic in their school and/or district. • Create and implement a new, culturally proficient model in their school and/or district. • Advocate for self-reflective practices to assess themself and others in growth about issues of diversity, equity, and cultural competence. |