Amplifying women's voices in educational leadership: a third space approach

Purpose This study aims to illuminate how women educational leaders can utilize third spaces to resist hegemonic leadership norms, engage in critical identity reflection and enact antiracist leadership practices within K-12 districts and schools located in the United States. Design/methodology/approach The authors employed a comparative qualitative design to examine two participatory action research studies they respectively led, which utilized similar community learning exchange processes in contrasting racialized and sociocultural contexts. Findings Despite contextual differences, both studies found that third spaces facilitated participants’ ability to: (1) create safe spaces for learning and connection, (2) reflect on sociocultural and sociopolitical identity and (3) enact forward-looking conceptions of educational leadership. Practical implications The findings from this comparative study suggest a promising new professional learning modality for K-12 women educational leaders and possibly other marginalized groups. Originality/value Although third spaces have been applied in various contexts, the authors found limited applications in educational leadership professional learning spaces.