Dialogue, Identity, and Inclusion: Administrators as Mediators in Diverse School Contexts

Abstract

This article describes a study that explores the identities that principals assume as they engage in dialogue in diverse school contexts. In particular it focuses on the various dimensions of one identity—that of mediator—and illustrates how this identity shapes the way in which administrators converse with others and how it affects efforts toward inclusion. Administrators in this study assumed either active or symbolic mediator identities in their quest to communicate with their respective school communities. They also devised strategies to deal with contradictions between their expressed inclusive values and their actual communication practices.