Moving a School toward Cultural Relevance: Leveraging Organizational Structures, Routines, and Artifacts to Shape Social Interactions

Abstract

This qualitative case study demonstrates how anti-racist instructional leaders at Oakwood High School were able to leverage organizational improvement tools to support sustained school-wide teacher usage of culturally relevant practices. Findings demonstrate how leaders developed a web of organizational structures, routines, and artifacts that nurtured the deprivitization of teacher practice and collective teacher growth in their adoption of culturally relevant practices. Furthermore, Findings demonstrate the structures, routines, and artifacts were successful because they: (a) focused on race and racism; (b) recognized that teaching is a social practice; and (c) responded to teacher and organizational needs. This research highlights the need for educational researchers and leadership preparation programs to think about how the fields of organizational improvement and anti-racist leadership overlap and can support one another.