Developing the next generation of black and global majority leaders for London schools

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to discuss the views of black and ethnic minority school leaders about the Investing in Diversity program, a black‐led program developed in 2004 to address the underrepresentation of black leaders in the London schools. Major themes are identified from interviews with black and South Asian women graduates of the program and recommendations made for leadership development strategies to help aspiring and current black and global majority headteachers “bring who they are” to their leadership.Design/methodology/approachQualitative case study data about the Investing in Diversity program include document analysis of curriculum modules and participant observation of the weekend residential, survey satisfaction data from several cohorts, and face‐to‐face interviews with a purposive sample of seven headteachers from African Caribbean, African, and South Asian backgrounds who completed the Investing in Diversity program six‐seven years ago. These semi‐structured individual interviews were conducted in the spring of 2012 during an all‐day visit to their schools and focused on barriers and supports in their career path, approach to leadership, and their views on their leadership preparation.FindingsParticipants identified black and ethnic minority headteachers as role models, the importance of mentoring and informal networks, and opportunities to lead as supports to their career path to headship. Many of their long‐term informal networks were established with other BME colleagues who attended Investing in Diversity. Barriers included subtle (and not so subtle) discrimination from parents, teachers, and administrators for some of the participants.Research limitations/implicationsObservational studies and interview studies, which included a bigger sample of black and ethnic minority headteachers, would extend this research.Practical implicationsThis study provides suggestions for schools and local authorities about leadership preparation strategies that make a difference for aspiring BME leaders.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of research on the views of British BME headteachers. This study adds to the research base on BME leadership development in Britain and contributes to international research on self‐defined black leadership perspectives.