Community Engaged Leadership Amid Whiteness: Initial Limitations and Possibilities for Contemporary, K-12 School Principals

This exploratory, qualitative study uses group interviews with thirteen predominantly white principals in one Midwestern U.S. state to initially understand how they make sense of and operationalize Community Engaged Leadership (CEL). The leaders currently work across urban, suburban, and exurban school spaces. This article uses critical whiteness in educational leadership as a key theoretical lens to critically examine the ontological limitations of contemporary principals and the field of educational leadership and leadership preparation, as well as the constraints on CEL praxis. The discussion and its implications thoroughly examine the current shortcomings and future possibilities of equity-focused, community-engaged school leadership and preparation.