Voices of racialized and Indigenous leaders in Canadian universities

Despite increasing interest in the development of K-12 educational leadership, and the slowly growing interest in leadership within higher education, the experiences of racialized and Indigenous leaders remain largely unheard and undocumented in Canada. Using a multiple-case study research design, participants were asked to answer the research question: What are the experiences of racialized and Indigenous leaders in Canadian universities? Ten racialized and Indigenous leaders serving various leadership roles in Canadian universities were interviewed in relation to this question using individual, semi-structured interviews and interpreted through the framework of Critical Race Theory. Six themes emerged to describe the complex and demanding roles of the participating leaders: a) Navigating Power, Politics, & Action, b) Resilience & Managing Distractions, c) Maintaining Values and Principles, d) Practicing Sustainable Leadership, e) Negotiating a Unique Identity: Insiders & Outsiders, and d) Negotiating Organizational Trust. The findings show that the nature of leadership practiced by the participating leaders is dynamic, fluid, and evolving. This research also revealed the important role race plays in influencing the day to day experiences of these leaders in higher education and how their presence, positive identity leadership traits, and personal politics, directly or indirectly result in socially just and equitable leadership outcomes, ultimately making Canadian universities more equitable. These findings support Applied Critical Leadership (ACL), an emerging theory in educational leadership research. It also captures insights, which inform future research agendas in educational leadership generally, and leadership in higher education more specifically.