Principal Leadership for Equity: Actions and Preparedness in One Urban School Division

As schools are growing more diverse and opportunity and achievement gaps remain, educational leaders are called to develop an equity lens to meet the needs of students (Grissom et al., 2021). The Professional Standards for Educational Leadership explicitly outline critical dispositions for educational leaders to act with equity and cultural competence in all decisions (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015). The purpose of this study was to identify principals' self-reported equity leadership practices and their perceptions of their preparedness to lead for equity in one urban school division. For the purposes of this study, equity leadership was defined as "conditions for learning that interrupt historically discriminatory practices, support democratic schooling, and achieve fair, inclusive, and just outcomes. Further, leadership for equity is acting on those beliefs and understandings intentionally, regularly, and systematically" (Rigby and Tredway, 2015, p. 6). The following research questions guided this study: (a) How do principals in one urban school division indicate they demonstrate equity leadership practices outlined in the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development framework? (b)What are principal perceptions regarding their preparedness to lead for equity? (c)What professional development do principals indicate they need? This study utilized a convergent-mixed-methods design with self-rated surveys and semistructured interviews. Findings included that while principals (n = 44) felt they were prepared to lead for equity, their practices fell on a continuum with majority of responses associated with the emerging to proficient equitable practices ratings based on the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development (LEAD) rubric. Moreover, principals noted that personal backgrounds and professional learning helped shape their preparedness to lead for equity most significantly. Principals indicated a need for professional growth relative to developing and evaluating teachers to be more equitable and culturally responsive. Additionally, principals suggested a need for more equitable approaches in engaging families and communities. Implications and recommendations for future studies were provided.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Harris, James Terrell

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Cash, Carol S.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Haynes, Raymond
• Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn
• Price, Ted S.

• principal leadership
• equity leadership practices

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:36658

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/115332