Leadership and Accountability in American Indian Education: Voices from New Mexico

Abstract

How do American Indian students, parents, and teachers conceptualize leadership in New Mexico public schools? How do they negotiate power dynamics within this context? The objective of this study was to investigate how leadership and accountability in American Indian schools and communities in New Mexico is recognized, characterized, contested, and envisioned by students, teachers, and community members. We contend that American Indian communities are uniquely positioned to provide insights for understanding leadership and visions of decolonized and empowering education for American Indian communities. Our data come from focus groups and interviews with American Indian students, parents, and community members, as well as teachers in seven public school districts in New Mexico. Participants described how they observed leadership enacted and how they participated in New Mexico public schools. We found participants describing unequal power relations, yet they also held visions of school leadership embedded i...