Chapter 21: Addressing White Fragility in Leadership Education

Leadership education has a vast history, characterized by consistent evolution over the last 35 years. Leadership education, often associated with college student development, is an established field which cuts across various academic programs at postsecondary institutions in the United States (Guthrie et al., 2018). Higher education and leadership education have long been associated with cultivating engaged citizens (Manning-Ouellette, 2018). Guthrie and Callahan (2016) posited the importance of higher education’s transformative role in leadership education by serving our communities’ well-being. Therefore, leadership education cultivates individuals’ knowledge and competencies, while solving complex systemic issues within communities (Manning-Ouellette, 2018). There are deep connections between leadership education and social responsibility (Kliewer et al., 2016). The nature of developing such broad and important skills leads to considerations regarding the social identities of those who teach leadership. What responsibilities do those who teach individualized notions of leadership and service to communities retain? This question frames our discussion on how leadership educators address systemic and social inequities.