LEARNING FROM TESTIMONIOS ABOUT EQUITY IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: EXPERIENCES OF LATINX PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS IN NORTH CAROLINA

The significance of this study was its ability to further inform district and state levels on the supports of the advancement and service of North Carolina’s Latinx educators in school leadership roles. More specifically, this study shed light on the barriers and supports faced by Latinx public school administrators in North Carolina during their professional advancement into school leadership and within their current leadership roles. The purpose of this qualitative study was to use an equity lens to explore the experiences/testimonios of Latinx administrators: their perceptions and experiences as public-school administrators in North Carolina. This study sought to explore the lived experiences of Latinx school administrators in North Carolina in order to foster understanding about the importance of racial and ethnic representation among teachers and school administrators for all students. A basic interpretative qualitative study, the researcher’s data sources for this study involved semi-structure, open-ended, one-on-one interviews with six Latinx North Carolina PK-12 public school administrators. Results of the study indicate that participants were supported by colleagues, partnership programs, mentoring, and networking as aspiring and practicing administrators. Results also indicated that participants faced a variety of biases, systemic racism, and lack of mentoring and networking opportunities both as aspiring and practicing administrators. Implications included the need for additional administrative supports, changes within hiring practices and school/district cultures, an increase in Latinx recruitment programs, and increased partnerships with higher education programs for Latinx educators.