Which schools are in greater need of culturally responsive leaders? A pedagogical uncertainty management perspective

Abstract

This study examines the possibility that certain schools may benefit more from culturally responsive leadership than others. We conceptualize culturally responsive leadership as a special form of leadership for uncertainty management. Acknowledging that student diversity usually adds additional complexity to the already difficult task of teaching, we hypothesize that the desired effect of principals' culturally responsive leadership is more pronounced in schools in which alternative social mechanisms for pedagogical uncertainty management are less well-developed. Our data from the Korea Multicultural Education Survey 2017 give credence to this postulation. The results indicate that the effect of principals' culturally responsive leadership tends to be larger in schools characterized by lower levels of teacher collegiality and/or school-community partnership. Considering that these two organizational features are characteristic of effective social mechanisms for pedagogical uncertainty management, schools with these features less clearly discernable would likely be in greater need of culturally responsive leadership.