This research study was conducted as a case study method on four African American and European American female educational administrators. The qualitative research framework was adopted to gain an understanding of how these administrators in secondary educational leadership positions exercised and (re)interpreted (Dillard, 1995) their leadership. The intent of my case study was to broaden the limited research base relating to the lived stories and experiences of the principalship from those whose voices can inform others about pertinent issues of leadership through diversity. In order to develop a clearer understanding of the administrators' perceptions on diverse leadership as it related to student academic performance, this study investigated constructed meanings of the relationship between their lived experiences and the way they led, by employing the feminist and interpretive lenses. This qualitative study used the actual words of the participants to tell their story, as it provided a rich representation of the ideas presented. Data was collected through in-depth, open-ended interviews, and semi-structured face-to-face interviews through which the events, beliefs, and perceptions shaped the phenomenon under study. Analysis of the data occurred immediately after each interview and observation. Analytic conclusions were formulated by unitizing, coding, and then categorizing ideas or statements of experiences from the data to ensure that important constructs, themes, and patterns emerged. The results of this study yielded the following as it related to the voices of four African American and European American female principals and their leadership styles in a recognized urban school district: (1) many forms or ways of leading were practiced by the administrators; (2) their upbringing or developmental pathways were different, however, they were determined to positively impact the lives of others throughout their educational career; (3) mentoring played an instrumental part in the administrators' leadership practices; (4) high student academic achievement was a result of effective professional development initiatives for their faculties; (5) they held themselves accountable for the outcomes of student academic performance; (6) they viewed diversity in leadership as critical; and (7) three of the four administrators identified their belief in a higher being as significant in their way of leading.

Despite what is known about the importance of diversity in the educator workforce, Asian American women (AAW) are not named in conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in leadership. The purpose of this qualitative study was to build on the limited research on AAW in social justice leadership (SJL), explore the lived experiences of AAW educators, and elevate their voices. I sought to answer the research questions: (1) What affordances and challenges do AAW experience in choosing and enacting SJL in K–12 public school systems? (2) How do the intersectional positionalities of Asian American women affect the way they lead for social justice in K–12 public school systems? Eight AAW, who identified themselves as social justice leaders, from five California public school districts participated in semistructured interviews (Leavy, 2017; Seidman, 2019). I used the tenets of Asian critical race theory to analyze the interview data. The analysis revealed that the intersectional identities of AAW inherently present experiences that are simultaneously both affordances and challenges in their pursuit of SJL. Themes that emerged across interviews include: (a) Cultural/Linguistic Identity, (b) Motherhood and Educational Leadership, (c) Silencing Powerful Voices, (d) Role Models, and (e) Navigating White Spaces. Findings suggest public school districts must develop inclusive environments by investing time and resources into identity-informed mentorship, affinity groups, and antiracism and implicit bias professional development at all levels. Moreover, higher education institutions that prepare teachers and administrators for public school service must actively recruit AAW and build their capacity for assuming these critical roles.

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