Developing Culturally Relevant Leadership Learning

Book excerpt: The notion of culturally relevant leadership learning builds upon the ideas of developing leader identity and leadership capacity of diverse students. Focusing on four areas of leadership learning: education, training, development, and engagement, this volume presents a model of culturally relevant leadership learning in order to develop all student leaders. It proposes infusing the leadership development process with an understanding of how systemic oppression influences educational contexts and with an engagement in and across cultural differences. Our contexts and differences influence knowledge of self, others, cultural contexts and systems, and ultimately students’ knowledge and enactment of leadership.To this end, culturally relevant leadership development programs equip all students with the knowledge and skills to navigate diverse settings and lead culturally diverse groups and teams. Transforming the framework for how leadership programs are designed will result in contextually relevant leadership development programs and an increase in the breadth and depth of a diverse leadership cadre for our society. The Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Student Leadership explores leadership concepts and pedagogical topics of interest to high school and college leadership educators. Issues are grounded in scholarship and feature practical applications and best practices in youth and adult leadership education.