Department of Educational Leadership
and Cultural Foundations

Dr. Joanne Chesley
Assistant Professor,
Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations

School of Education
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
229B Curry Building, P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170

Office: (336) 334-4095
Email: jrchesle@uncg.edu

Statement of Research Interests and Direction

My research intersects the following themes:

1. the academic and social effects of school desegregation
2. the significance of resilience in the face of prejudice and oppression
3. culturally relevant leadership for schools that are ‘still desegregating’
4. the importance of intentionality in principals who lead diverse schools
5. a more honest and culturally  proficient look at the origins of school leadership

I come from a family that participated actively in the Civil Rights Movement, a family that was formally educated on one side (because they had the resources) and not so formally educated on the other, due to lack of resources.  A certain passion has developed within me over the years, that always seems to direct me to efforts that improve the human condition. My first really strong career aspiration (as a high school student) was to become a journalist who would call attention to injustices (I was derailed from that goal once I got a taste of teaching). I have continued to be interested in society, economics, politics and education and the convergence of these.

Issues around segregation are always about society, economics, politics and education. Having attended an integrated Catholic school, I never knew first hand, what school segregation was all about.  I did know however that my mother visited the governor of MD to protest the unfair treatment of ‘colored children’ in our county, who were not allowed to ride the ‘white buses.’ This made a real impression on me---a ‘colored’ woman taking that kind of initiative, and having a certain brand of courage (I only wish I had told my mother years ago, how much that meant).  I learned many years later that the term for the kind of perseverance and stamina I observed in my parents is Resilience.  As my public school teaching and administration careers progressed, I found myself being most intrigued with people who push forward, who press on, despite the hardships in their way.  I have long held them in the highest regard, and believe their accomplishments mean so much more than those of the privileged person who has been given so much to make success happen. Resilience and intentional behavior continue to underlie my scholarly endeavors.

Courses

ELC 659 - Educational Finance

ELC 660 - The School Principalship

ELC 751 - Concepts and Cases in Educational Administration

ELC 790 - Administrative Internship