Assessing schoolwide cultural competence: Implications for school leadership preparation

Purpose: The initial purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the instrument fidelity and construct-related validity of a 33-item instrument called the Schoolwide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist (SCCOC) by eliciting school leaders ’ views. The SCCOC was designed as one tool for use in conducting school culture audits, which determine how well a school responds to the needs of diverse groups. The results revealed unexpected qualitative findings from school leaders ’ narrative responses to open-ended items. The implications of these findings for school leaders and school leader preparation are discussed. Research Design: On a Web-based questionnaire, practicing school leaders in two large western states responded to open- and closed-ended items on the relevance of SCCOC items to cultural competence in actual school settings. Participants ’ narrative responses were analyzed using an iterative process of coding and constant comparison to identify emerging themes. Themes were validated using intercoder reliability. Findings: Research team members reached consensus on four primary themes that emerged from analysis of narrative data: policy as a paradox, programs as instrumental to culturally competent practice, school culture and climate as integral to schoolwide cultural competence