Equitable School Leadership Practices for Students From Low-SES Schools: A Review of Empirical Research

• In Event: School Leadership and Equity in Student Learning: Conceptualization, Contexts, and Effectiveness

Abstract

The present study elucidates a comprehensive, evidence-based framework of equitable school leadership domains and practices for students from low socioeconomic status (SES) schools. The framework includes two key constructs: school SES and equitable school leadership practices. School SES refers to the mean level of student SES in a school. Educational equity means that all students, irrespective of their school SES, should receive learning opportunities addressing their needs to maximize their learning outcomes. The present study focuses on school leadership practices that contribute to educational equity (Hitt & Tucker, 2016; Tan et al., 2022).

In terms of methodology, the research team first reviewed seven relevant frameworks (Berkovich, 2014; Furman, 2012; Galloway & Ishimaru, 2015; Kennedy, 2019; Khalifa et al, 2016; Leithwood, 2021) to identify equitable school leadership practices. Next, we identified 6,661 potential studies (articles, dissertations) examining equitable school leadership practices (2000-2022) by (a) searching three databases (Academic Search Complete, British Education Index, ERIC) and (b) conducting manual searches in eight key leadership journals (e.g., Educational Administration Quarterly) and from reference lists in the articles reporting the seven frameworks. Third, abstracts were screened for eligibility using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. This screening excluded 6,353 studies. Two authors independently reviewed the full text of the remaining 308 studies for eligibility to be included using the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. Differences in decisions were resolved consensually to arrive at a final set of 97 studies for analysis. Fourth, we coded information on participant demographics, research design, equitable school leadership practices, student outcomes, and relationships between these practices and outcomes from the studies. Content analysis (Saldaña, 2014) was used to analyze the equitable school leadership practices, student outcomes, and relationships between these practices and student outcomes. Inter-rater reliability in the coding was high. Coding disagreements were resolved consensually. Lastly, we discussed the results on the domains and practices characterizing equitable school leadership and developed a comprehensive, unified, evidence-based framework for equitable school leadership comprising 31constituent practices in seven domains (Showing commitment to and engaging in self-growth to achieve equity, Developing and enacting an equity-focused school vision, Developing people for equitable practices, Improving instructional practices for equity, Designing the organization for equitable practices, Engaging with and addressing needs of marginalized families and communities, and Collaborating with external stakeholders and influencing the socio-political context to promote equity.

The present study contributes to the school leadership scholarship in three ways. First, it elucidates a comprehensive, unified framework of evidence-based equitable school leadership domains and practices that underscores the need for school leadership to work with different stakeholders to achieve equitable student learning. Second, it identifies three sets of practices that school leaders need to provide equitable learning opportunities for students in low-SES schools that are not identified in generic school leadership frameworks: leadership demonstrating a personal commitment toward equity, pursuing equity in school leadership, and collaborating with external stakeholders to achieve equity. Lastly, the framework can inform different bodies of knowledge, including transformational school leadership, social justice leadership, and culturally responsive teaching theory.

Author

• Cheng Yong Tan, University of Hong Kong