Chapter 6: The Personal work of Anti-Racism in Leadership Education

In this chapter, we look to address how educators’ engagement in critical self-reflective work is necessary in cultivating inclusive pedagogical approaches employed in various learning environments. What follows is a discussion on the importance of reflection, definition and explanation of anti-racist pedagogy, a look at positionality within an anti-racist framework, concluding with considerations and critical questions for practice. Throughout this piece, we use the terms “educator” and “instructor” interchangeably. We use the terms educator and instructor to describe anyone who engages learning in both curricular and co-curricular settings.

Reflection has been well noted as an added benefit in the leadership learning process for students (Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018; Volpe White et al., 2020), but the conversation on the benefits of reflection on the educator themself is limited. As educators, it is important to note the significance and value add in incorporating reflection in personal practice in an effort to strengthen teaching pedagogical techniques. In highlighting self-reflection and its impact on self-awareness and overall mindfulness, the intention is to encourage educators to infuse this in their daily practice as they work to increase their overall teaching success.