Equity-focused leadership: The leadership practices and beliefs of principals in academically successful schools serving students from marginalized communities

The American schooling system is built on a history of inequity where some students have been, and continue to be, denied access to opportunity structure based on discriminatory policies, practices, structures, and systems. This lack of equitable access and educational experiences have led to inequitable outcomes, which persist despite efforts over the past 30 years to repay the educational debt and narrow the achievement gaps (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Tatum, 2003, 2019). In recent years, scholarship has identified characteristics and practices of equity- focused leaders who are leading schools that are closing the achievement gaps and by deconstructing inequitable structures and replacing them with those focused on equity. Upon a review of the student achievement data from a state in the southeastern United States, of the nearly 1200 secondary schools, one only finds thirteen schools where students of color from marginalized communities have academic outcomes beyond the average. This study is a phenomenological examination of six of the principals leading these schools. The phenomenological approach is appropriate in this case because it allows the participants to share their life-worlds within the context of their own positionality, context, and life experiences. This study seeks to understand the following research questions: 1. How do principals define the leadership practices they utilize to build systems that result in more equitable outcomes? 2. What are key commonalities of practice and shared traits among the principals of these schools? Based on semi-structured interviews and a hermeneutic process for explication of the data, I utilized situated narratives to identify the day-to-day practices and beliefs of equity- focused leaders. These leaders have an early exposure and develop a critical understanding of the issues related to equity, establish a clear vision for equity and instructional excellence in their schools, hire and support teachers based on this vision, build strong relationships and hold high expectations for all stakeholders based on a love ethic, are critically reflective, and make autonomous decisions based a strong moral center. I also found clear interactions with race and gender in the realms of leadership practices and interaction with the schooling systems. Further, I was able to make qualitative connections between standardized student achievement data and equity-focused practices. The implications of this work lie in the education, preparation, selection, and professional development of equity-focused leaders that use transformational approaches to deconstruct inequitable structures and replace them with schooling systems that allow all students access to the opportunity structure