Eradicating dominant ideologies in higher education: the responsibility of campus leadership in developing a culturally-congruent education experience

Abstract

Educational leadership serves a pivotal function in establishing the tenor of campus cultures. Executive decisions shape educational policy and practice in ways that either hinder or advance marginalised students' academic success. Leaders are in powerful positions to modify unjust academic ecosystems and to de-ideologise the white-centric dominant ideologies that lead to student pushout. Leadership actions tend to justify the status quo rather than to deconstruct campus culture and reconstruct antiracist options. Inaction from leadership has resulted in cultural discontinuities that lead some students to self-deidentify from academia. This article expands upon cultural mismatch theory to describe how race dysconsciousness, academic capitalism and rugged individualism operate to buttress ecosystemic conditions that create racially-antagonistic campus cultures. We propose strategies that leaders can implement to eradicate dominant ideologies at their home institutions and within educator-student relationships and individual mindsets. We also discuss important considerations and corresponding actions for creating culturally-congruent equity-focused educational spaces.

Keywords: Antiracism; cultural mismatch theory; dominant ideologies; educational leadership; intersectionally-marginalised students of colour; race/racism.

Figure 1.

The three ecosystems of a hierarchical higher education institution. Inner Dotted Triangle: Psychological Level. Middle Dashed Triangle: Interpersonal Level. Outer Solid Triangle: Institutional Level.

Figure 2.

Modification of the cultural mismatch theory.

Figure 3.

The three ecosystems of a non-hierarchical higher education institution. Inner Dotted Circle: Psychological Level. Middle Dashed Circle: Interpersonal Level. Outer Solid Circle: Institutional Level.