Dismantling Racism in Schools through Anti-Oppressive Frameworks: The Pivotal Role of Leadership in Achieving Racial Equity

Abstract

This paper explores how human rights, decolonization, and anti-racist education converge in combatting systemic racism, bias, and discrimination in K-8 schooling. The goal is not to embed human rights as a standalone framework, but to align human rights principles with ongoing decolonizing and anti-racist work. Educational institutions and school leaders have a moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to those they serve and lead. The onus must be placed on educational leaders to first, examine their own racial location and identity; second, be aware of their power and privilege, and; third, understand how this power, privilege, and bias shapes and impacts attitudes, beliefs, and decision-making. Without a fundamental understanding of one’s biases and knowledge gaps, leaders cannot adequately identify and eliminate racism, racial discrimination and inequities in schools. To move from theory to practice, this paper concludes with tangible strategies and tools for leaders to begin dialogues and processes for change. This paper is based on a theoretical research plan developed for the York University Graduate Students in Education Conference. In the future, this conceptual paper will inform the development of a research project, at which stage, the methodology will be solified, the theoretical frameworks more firmly grounded, and implications for leadership policy and practice discussed.