Moving Toward Equity? K–12 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Actions and Resistance

• In Event: Conceptualizations of Social Justice Leadership in Research and Practice

Abstract

In this national moment of backlash to DEI work, New York State required all school districts to develop a DEI policy. For this project we seek to address the following question:

What steps or interventions have school district leaders chosen to move DEI forward? What have they begun to implement because of those interventions?
In what ways have these leaders encountered resistance to their DEI work?

Using a framework of sense making and focusing a consortium of about sixty districts in central New York, we used a mix of online questionnaires and in depth interviews. We constructed five main themes regarding the DEI steps and three main themes regarding the resistance.

Authors

• George Theoharis, Syracuse University

• Leela George, Syracuse University

• Kate Franz, Syracuse University