District Leaders Advancing a Race-Conscious Policy Agenda: Borrowing Strength in the Local Context

• In Event: 73.062 - Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: 73.062-1 - Race Issues in Educational Policy

Abstract

Equal educational opportunity (EEO) and access for students of color remains elusive as evidenced by the longstanding systemic racial inequities in our public school system. This study examined the ways that district leaders in four high achieving public school districts adopted race-conscious (RC) policy agenda as a means of advancing EEO and access for students of color. Utilizing a positioned subject approach within a multi-case study design, participants indicated that actual advancement of EEO largely hinged on the interests of local entities, such as the board of education, parents, and teachers. The conceptual framework was informed by Manna’s (2009) borrowing strength model for agenda setting and the Critical Race Theory concept of interest convergence.

Author

• Lisa Marshall Black, University of Wisconsin - Madison