Intersectional Study of the Impact of Principal Leadership on Black Girls in Special Education

Date of Award

5-1-2025

Degree Name

Ed.D. in Leadership for Organizations

Department

School of Education and Health Sciences

Advisor/Chair

Meredith Wronowski

Abstract

The purpose of this participatory action research study is to amplify the treatment of Black girls, as students with disabilities, around disproportionality, access to the general education curriculum and environment, and adultification stereotypes. The study, using a qualitative methodology and phenomenological lens, illuminates the leadership needs of principals around special education processes to better serve Black girls with disabilities. The findings underscore how Black principals see Black girls with disabilities differently than their teachers, teachers misinterpreting Black girls' traumas, racialized approaches to identifying minority students with disabilities through the RtI process, and the caring and uncaring of Black girls' learning capacities. The implications of this study pose a threat to special education practices, processes, and policies that loosely promote fair treatment of minority students.

Keywords

African American Studies, African Americans, Black Studies, Educational Leadership, Gender, Special Education, Teacher Education, Womens Studies

Rights Statement

Copyright 2025, author.

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