UCLA

This qualitative study examined the experiences of Latina high school principals in their roles as high school principals in a predominantly White and male role. United States demographics show that the Latino/a population is growing, and as a result, the Latino/a student population has also flourished (NCES, 2016). However, Latino/a students continue to underperform academically and rarely attend schools with Latino/a Leaders (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2015; NCES, 2016). Using Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), Community Cultural Wealth, and Latina Feminist Epistemology, this study explored how Latina high school principals embed aspects of Community Cultural Wealth into their practice, as well as common barriers encountered in their roles. Last, it investigated how current Latina high school principals say they provided aspiring Latina high school principals with career advice. Specifically, this study examined individual stories of the 14 Latina high school principals, using platicas (unstructured interviews) to allow participants to share their experiences, knowledge, memories and advice (Delgado-Bernal, 2020).Findings were organized around three research questions: (a) In what ways, if any, do Latina public high school principals incorporate community cultural wealth into their practice? (b) What barriers and supports do Latina public high school principals say they encountered in their leadership roles? And (c) What advice do Latina high school principals have for aspiring Latina principals? The findings of the study highlighted the use of navigational capital by the participants and brought their own lived navigational experiences to bear on their leadership choices. In addition, the study revealed that the participants used their race, linguistic capital, and aspirational capital to develop and deepen their relationships with their students. The Latina high school principals in this study echo aspects of resistant capital as they advise aspiring Latina high school principals to fully know, understand, and communicate their “why” to their school community. The participants attributed their success to their social capital and encouraged aspiring Latina principals to identify mentors and become members of professional networks. Findings further advise that aspiring Latina high school principals prioritize familial capital and a balance between their personal and principal role.