By Laurel White
A new book from a School of Education faculty member and faculty emerit offers a nuanced, diversity-oriented perspective on organizational theories used in educational leadership practice and research.
The book, the second edition of “Organizational Theory for Equity and Diversity,” was co-authored by Kevin Lawrence Henry, Jr., an associate professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, and Colleen Capper, a professor emerit in the same department. Capper released the first edition of the book in 2018.
Henry says the book aims to provide aspiring school leaders and administrators the tools they need to create equitable and diverse schools that are effective and sustainable. He says too often organizational theory is presented in a way that is abstract or disconnected from the lived realities of students, families, and educators — particularly those from historically and presently marginalized communities.
“This book aims to make major theoretical frameworks legible for educational leaders with an intent to help leaders see how theory can be used not just to describe how schools operate, but to challenge inequities and reimagine educational organizations so that all students have the opportunity to thrive,” he says. “My hope is for readers to engage this book with openness, nuance, and a permission to dream otherwise worlds.”
Each chapter of the book features teaching suggestions, discussion questions, and prompts to help aspiring leaders critically analyze their leadership strengths and limitations in order to understand, apply, and integrate theories into practice. The work is part of a series from Routledge dedicated to educational leadership for equity and diversity.
Henry says it was an honor to work on the edition alongside Capper, who taught for more than three decades in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. Capper is a national thought leader on issues of social justice and equity and has published four best-selling books on the subject, including the first edition of “Organizational Theory for Equity and Diversity.” Henry says Capper’s work has been instrumental in shaping how many think about leadership, justice, and educational change.
“Working alongside Colleen on this edition felt like both a professional milestone and a personal gift,” Henry says. “Collaborating on this edition allowed us to weave together her deep expertise with my own research on race so that future leaders have a richer, more critical framework for action.”
Daniel Gutmore, a faculty associate at Seton Hall University who specializes in organizational theory and practice, says the work fills a critical gap in scholarship on organizational theory.
“In teaching organizational theory for prospective doctoral students for over 25 years I was struck by the lack of diversity in perspective regarding the various organizational theories and applications,” Gutmore said in a review. “This well written and organized text is perfect for understanding and creating equitable educational organizational designs in the pre-K to graduate level institutions.”
Broadly, Henry’s research focuses on race, racism, and education policy and practice. Earlier this year, he was honored as a 2025 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. He was nominated for that award by internationally renowned scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings, a School of Education professor emerit who previously held the Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education. In 2024, Henry also received a national honor for early career scholars from the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA).