Introduction to Special Issue—Intersectionality

Schools in the United States have historically responded to dimensions of diversity by privileging some and marginalizing others. Dimensions of diversity that have enjoyed privilege include being White, of European heritage, of moderate to high socioeconomic status, Christian, heterosexual, native English speaking, and without disability. By contrast, dimensions of diversity that have been marginalized include being of color, of non-European heritage, of low socioeconomic status, non-Christian, lesbian / gay / bisexual / transgender (LGBT), of limited proficiency in English, or with a special need or disability. If schools are to pursue the common good and promote social justice, school leaders need go beyond approaching these discrete identities in a linear, disconnected manner. Instead, they need the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to create schools to eliminate marginalization across these multiple dimensions of diversity. To that end, this special issue of JCEL titled Intersectionality: Promoting Social Justice While Navigating Multiple Dimensions of Diversity offers a collection of rich and textured cases examining such efforts. The themes addressed in this Special Issue are timely for the field of educational administration. The revised Professional Standards for this field, Professional Standards for Educational Leaders 2015 (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015), point to this relevance. In several places, these Professional Standards directly