Date of Award
6-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Publisher
Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Abstract
This qualitative study examines how Latina administrators in East San Jose leverage their Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) to support Latinx student success in K-12 education. Although Latinx students comprise the largest racial/ethnic group in California public schools (California Department of Education, 2021), Latinx leaders remain significantly underrepresented in educational leadership. Guided by Critical Race Theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017), Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001), and Yosso’s (2005) framework of Community Cultural Wealth, this study centers the counter-stories of three Latina administrators to explore how their cultural identities, lived experiences, and relational practices inform leadership.
Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using counter-storytelling methods (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Three themes emerged: (1) aspirational leadership rooted in cultural identity, (2) navigating barriers and biases in educational leadership, and (3) creating culturally affirming educational spaces. Participants drew upon aspirational, familial, resistant, navigational, social, and linguistic capital to resist deficit narratives, expand academic opportunity, and foster inclusive school climates. Their leadership practices represent resistance and transformation, exemplifying what Theoharis (2007) describes as social justice leadership—daily efforts to dismantle inequities and affirm student identity.
The study culminates in the Community Cultural Wealth Leadership Praxis Model, a conceptual framework integrating cultural knowledge, equity-focused practice, and transformational leadership. This work contributes to the scholarship on culturally sustaining leadership and offers implications for school leaders, preparation programs, and policymakers committed to justice and equity in education.
Recommended Citation
Pimentel, Alexis Corona, "Reimagining School Leadership: Latinx Administrators Leveraging Community Cultural Wealth to Support Latinx Student Success: A Qualitative Study in East San Jose Grounded in Counter-Storytelling, Critical Race Theory, and Latino Critical Theory" (2025). Social Justice in Educational Leadership EdD Dissertations. 22.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/ed_dissertations/22
