Equity-minded Principals: Leadership That Promotes Academic Achievement for Marginalized Students

The general question guiding this research is: How do equity-minded principals promote academic achievement for the marginalized students in their schools? The following subquestions are addressed in this study: How do equity-minded principals understand marginalization in their schools? Why do equity-minded principals see the need to attend to the academic well-being of marginalized students? What motivates them? What strategies do equity-minded principals employ to promote the academic achievement of marginalized students? What barriers do equity-minded principals encounter, and how do they address them? What recommendations would equity-minded principals give to the district school boards and the Ministry of Education as regards to promoting academic achievement for marginalized students? A critical perspective is used to examine the experiences of 16 principals from elementary schools who were identified through a snowball sampling as being equity minded. These principals are from the area of southern Ontario from both Catholic and public boards of education. They have been principals for at least 3 years. The literature I reviewed indicated that many principals, although they follow an equity/social justice approach to some degree, do not usually focus specifically on promoting the academic achievement of marginalized students as these equity-minded principals do. The participants in the study articulated their understanding of marginalization in their schools, what motivated them, the strategies they used, the barriers they faced, and how they handled them. Through this study numerous strategies that promote academic achievement for marginalized students with staff, students, and parents were identified by the equity-minded principals. I also identify critical themes: the principals' understanding of marginalization, principals' advocacy and school culture, curriculum, and instruction and staff as barriers or facilitators to promoting academic achievement of marginalized students. I conclude with highlighting the recommendations the 16 equity-minded principals identified to be useful to the Ministry of Education and boards of education in their efforts to promote the academic achievement of marginalized students. I also looked at how the equity-minded leadership framework connects/contributes to the larger body of knowledge in the educational leadership field.Ed.D