<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This qualitative study focuses on the intersectionality of race and rurality by looking at the responses of Wyoming principals and superintendents to the issues of diversity and social justice within Wyoming. The responses are presented and analyzed through a new framework called Cowboy Epistemology, and the Cultural Competency Continuum (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_jelpp-2023-0003_ref_018">Lindsey et al., 2009</xref>). It appears that despite double-digit increases in diversity between 2010 and 2018, some Wyoming school and district administrators continue to demonstrate actions and practices congruent with the demographic divide, cultural homophily, and Whiteness along with cultural worldviews that suggest a failure to: (1) value diversity, (2) engage political organizations and individuals in a manner that advocates for the needs of diverse students, (3) implement multicultural instruction beyond superficial means, and (4) engage the community in tolerance for others who are different from the traditional White Wyoming ranching, conservative, materials extraction, isolationist way of life. While outliers and standards for social justice and diversity exist in Wyoming among and for administrators, more needs to be done to prepare and train administrators to engage in culturally proficient and sustaining instructional leadership so that administrators can serve all students, engage in community leadership, and resist the negative influences of Cowboy Epistemology, demographic divide, cultural homophily, and Whiteness. Chief among the more needs to be done for Wyoming administrators is the adoption of culturally responsive school and culturally sustaining instructional leadership practices and training on the culturally proficient continuum.</p>
</abstract>

This qualitative study focuses on the intersectionality of race and rurality by looking at the responses of Wyoming principals and superintendents to the issues of diversity and social justice within Wyoming. The responses are presented and analyzed through a new framework called Cowboy Epistemology, and the Cultural Competency Continuum (Lindsey et al., 2009). It appears that despite double-digit increases in diversity between 2010 and 2018, some Wyoming school and district administrators continue to demonstrate actions and practices congruent with the demographic divide, cultural homophily, and Whiteness along with cultural worldviews that suggest a failure to: (1) value diversity, (2) engage political organizations and individuals in a manner that advocates for the needs of diverse students, (3) implement multicultural instruction beyond superficial means, and (4) engage the community in tolerance for others who are different from the traditional White Wyoming ranching, conservative, materials extraction, isolationist way of life. While outliers and standards for social justice and diversity exist in Wyoming among and for administrators, more needs to be done to prepare and train administrators to engage in culturally proficient and sustaining instructional leadership so that administrators can serve all students, engage in community leadership, and resist the negative influences of Cowboy Epistemology, demographic divide, cultural homophily, and Whiteness. Chief among the more needs to be done for Wyoming administrators is the adoption of culturally responsive school and culturally sustaining instructional leadership practices and training on the culturally proficient continuum.

Cowboy epistemology: Rural school and district leadership for diversity and social justice

Department of Teacher Education and Educational Leadership and Policy, College of Education and Human Sciences

Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This qualitative study focuses on the intersectionality of race and rurality by looking at the responses of Wyoming principals and superintendents to the...

Demographic Category	2010	2018	Net Change	% Change
Total enrollment	88,165	93,029	4,864	5.2%
White	71,450	72,477	1,027	1.4%
Black or African American alone	1,009	1,007	−2	−.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	2,856	3,091	235	7.6%
Asian alone	716	781	65	8.3%
Pacific Islander alone	115	149	34	22.8%
Two or more races	1,192	2,592	1400	117.4%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	10,827	13,332	2,505	18.8%

Demographic Category	2010	2018	Net Change	% Change	% of Net Change
Total population	564,460	577,737	13,277	2.4%	100.0%
White alone	484,183	485,040	857	0.2%	6.5%
Non-White and/or Hispanic	80,277	92,697	12,420	15.5%	93.5%
Black or African American alone	4,512	3,102	−1,410	−31.3%	−10.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	12,637	14,292	1,655	13.1%	12.5%
Asian alone	3,803	5,612	1,809	47.6%	13.6%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone	347	1,065	718	206.9%	5.4%
Some other race alone	190	537	347	182.6%	2.6%
Two or more races	8,095	10,194	2,099	25.9%	15.8%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	50,693	57,895	7,202	14.2%	54.2%

Cowboy epistemology: Rural school and district leadership for diversity and social justice

Published Online: Aug 25, 2023

Page range: 39 - 58

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jelpp-2023-0003

Keywords
Cowboy epistemology, demographic divide, cultural homophily, Whiteness, principal, superintendent

© 2023 William T Holmes, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Browning of Wyoming: Wyoming State and District Fall Enrollment by Ethnicity Data

The Browning of Wyoming: United States Census Bureau Data

Cowboy epistemology: Rural school and district leadership for diversity and social justice

Published Online: Aug 25, 2023

Page range: 39 - 58

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jelpp-2023-0003

KeywordsCowboy epistemology, demographic divide, cultural homophily, Whiteness, principal, superintendent

© 2023 William T Holmes, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Browning of Wyoming: Wyoming State and District Fall Enrollment by Ethnicity Data

The Browning of Wyoming: United States Census Bureau Data

Keywords
Cowboy epistemology, demographic divide, cultural homophily, Whiteness, principal, superintendent