Perspectives From White Outsider School Administrators in Latinx Communities Along the U.S./Mexico Border

Abstract

This study was designed to examine perspectives from White Outsider School Administrators (WOSAs) in K-12 rural and border school districts in the Southwestern United States along the U.S./Mexico border. The idea for this study stemmed from the disproportionate percentage of White school principals and administrators (56.4%-73.9% in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas) compared to the non-White, Hispanic demographic makeup of Southwestern states (NCES, 2023). Additionally, this correlates with the disparity in the teaching profession overall, which is overwhelmingly White (75%), compared with a student body that is 38% White, 45% Hispanic, 5% Black and 4% Native American (NCES, 2021). I therefore focused on school administrators who were not racially aligned with the populations they serve, and those who did not grow up in the communities where they work. The purpose of the study was to determine how externally recruited school administrators, racially different from the populations they were hired to serve in rural, borderland communities, met the needs of local, Latinx populations unlike themselves. It identified WOSAs’ motivations for moving to predominantly Latinx border school communities, the relationships they established when working in these environments, and the ways in which their perceptions of identity influenced their school practices. This firsthand, descriptive case study of WOSAs near the U.S./Mexico border confronted the issue of how Outsider school leaders navigate challenges unique to their settings, as well as the challenges that their identities and backgrounds present, particularly upon Latinx members. This qualitative research offered an in-depth analysis of WOSAs and their relationships with school and local communities. It shared empirical research from interviews of three primary WOSAs and 12 additional participants living and working in border communities. The study utilized a combination of Critical Race Theory and Latino Critical Theory lenses to examine perceptions of race, and offered a Community Equity Literacy lens to introduce perspectives based upon place-centered community relationships. Key findings from this research showed that WOSAs’ identities were important toward a shared sense of beliefs, values, and priorities, and that Outsider identities may create “gaps” that influence outcomes for Latinx members. I described opportunities for Outsider school leaders to employ self-reflective practices that offer learning opportunities for transformative and social justice leadership. I concluded the study by sharing the relevance and urgency of this work to reveal opportunities from which other rural educational leaders may move toward equitable, socially just practices.