Culturally Proficient Strategic Planning: Leading Change in K-12 and Higher Education

Abstract

Research has focused on student outcomes in K-12 and higher education institutions for decades, with emphasis on academic student access and achievement gaps. These disparities often present the need to engage in the strategic planning process regularly to move from current reality to a future vision. Culturally Proficient Strategic Planning, rooted in professional learning and transformative growth, holds the key to possibilities for a hope-filled future for any organization. This chapter includes practical strategies, supported by relevant theoretical frameworks, to lead systemic change to policies, practices, and behaviors with any educational organization. The fundamental goal of this chapter is to provide a roadmap for educational leaders, focusing on applying the Essential Elements of Cultural Proficiency - assessing culture, valuing diversity, managing the dynamics of difference, adapting to diversity, and institutionalizing cultural knowledge - to strategic planning processes.