Countering Colonialism in Border Communities: Leadership, Education, and the Politics of Multicultural Recognition

Abstract

Operating from Postcolonial theory and using Honneth (1994), and Taylor (1995) conception of Multicultural recognition, Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth, and studies on Culturally Responsive Leadership, this dissertation presents three empirical studies that evidence the necessity of a global decolonization towards multicultural recognition. The first study shed light of a recognized Indigenous school that struggles for recognition and counters colonial domination. Findings demonstrated how a culturally responsive shared leadership fosters academic achievement and cultural pride. The second study provides an example of resilience and community cultural wealth in a group of repatriated students from the United States to Mexico, at the same time presents a re-conceptualization of cultural capital concept (Bourdieu, 1997), as a guide for recognition of cultural wealth within migrant communities. The final study examines how Southern Arizona principals conceptualize and enact successful leadership in border schools with shifting demographics and high percentages of colonized populations. Findings indicate that, along with Leithwood and Riehl's leadership dimensions, all four principals demonstrate a sociocultural affect as part of successful practice in Arizona border contexts.