Resisting Social Justice

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how rural high school principals perceive and support LGBTQ students. Through semistructured interviews of these principals, we examine how the context of the schools, specifically rural communities with conservative values, affects principals’ perceptions and implementation of a positive climate for all students. The study's findings suggest that these leaders upheld community normative values by exhibiting their own bias against LGBTQ students. Insights drawn here indicate that the school leader's position within and affinity toward rural school communities provide a unique context for examining equity constraints. Theoharis’ (2007) framework of resistance for social justice leaders is used as a reference for viewing these rural principals, and the study offers an extension to his three-prong model.