This study explored principals’ leadership actions from three leadership frameworks, instructional, socio-cultural and cultural-psychological, to understand how each contributes to influencing teachers' work and learning opportunities for Hispanic English learners.
The research was conducted as a case study, using multiple data sources, of two principals whose Hispanic students were successfully transitioning into English fluency.
The data indicated that each leadership approach contributed to teacher expertise and engagement with students. Principals acted in culturally responsive ways, focusing on both teacher and student strengths, and promoting a growth mindset culture.
Although the study identified principal practices that supported teachers to more effectively educate Hispanic English learners, larger scale studies are needed to demonstrate a cause/effect relationship between actions and student learning.
Strengths-based and growth mindset leadership beliefs and skills, if cultivated, can effectively interact with instructional and socio-cultural leadership skills to build a robust learning environment that influences positive student outcomes.
This case study lays the conceptual groundwork for future studies involving more extensive samplings of schools and principals.
