Walking the Equity Talk―A Guide for Culturally Courageous Leadership in School Communities

Browne, a former teacher and administrator who is an educational consultant and executive coach, presents a guide for school leaders,that shows how to create culturally democratic learning environments within school and classroom settings and sustained improvement in the educational inputs and outcomes of students who have been on the lower end of the achievement continuum. The guide focuses on the inequities experienced by historically underserved students of color in urban school settings. He draws on theory, research, and practice in multicultural education/cultural proficiency, educational inputs and outcomes, transformational/instructional leadership, critical race theory in education, and planning and implementing change, and focuses on the lack of cultural democracy in schools. He addresses the influence of identity development; the relationships between student identity and achievement and race and personal identity; the relationship between identity development and racial/cultural conflict and the absence of cultural democracy in the US; conditions contributing to inequity; and biases and barriers to achievement. He then discusses the culturally courageous leadership paradigm, major actions needed, the need for collaborative leadership, essential characteristics of school stakeholders, personal and organizational transformation, navigating the politics of implementation, attitudes and actions needed, conditions in schools, and examples and profiles. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)