Dr. Shawn Joseph Publishes Case Study Documenting Black Superintendent's Fight to Lead With Equity In Urban School District

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Shawn Joseph, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and Co-Director of the Urban Superintendent Academy at Howard University, published an article titled, "Swimming Against the Current: Resistance to a Black Superintendent's Fight to Lead With Equity in an Urban School District" in the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership. 

Dr. Joseph shared, "The true stories of Black superintendents must be told. In this case, I utilized journal entries and newspaper clippings of a Black superintendent to tell his story as an instructive tool for future aspiring superintendents.  Specifically, in this case study, I describe how prejudice and racism played a factor in this school leader's ability to improve outcomes for children."  The article chronicles three incidents in a Black superintendent's tenure that were evidence of prejudice or racism, and the case provides readers with research and insight into the challenges Black superintendents face in their roles leading for equity. 

This research is significant because there is currently limited research on Black superintendents.  While 14% of the US public school population is Black, only 3-4% of superintendents are Black.  In addition, the average tenure of a Black superintendent is shorter than the average tenure of a White superintendent.  Dr. Joseph states, "If the fish keep dying, one must stop questioning if the fish is just unhealthy.  Instead, we must look at the water in which the fish swims, and we must work to cure the water.  It is my hope that this case study, which documents, calls out, and critically analyzes the experience of a Black superintendent, is a first step to publicly acknowledging the problem so we can begin to identify remedies to purify the water/environments in which Black superintendents lead".

Download the full article here.

To go to Dr. Joseph and Associates LLC's website, you can click here.

To learn more about Dr. Joseph's work at Howard University, you can click here.

About Joseph and Associates LLC:

Joseph and Associates LLC is an educational consulting firm with a mission to support school districts and school leaders with school leadership development, governance, and diversity training.  Founded in 2019 by Dr. Shawn Joseph, Joseph and Associates supports school districts and school leaders around the United States.

SOURCE Joseph and Associates LLC