Equity, Democracy, and the Practices of “Superprincipals”

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Hiring, Compensating, and Evaluating Principals: The Role of Gender, Quality Feedback, and Performance-Based Measures (Table 29)

Abstract

This study seeks to provide insights into how school leaders practice democracy, disrupt racial injustices within their schools, and inspire changes that pave the way for improved educational possibilities for all students. In the paper, we analyze the extent to which various, richly descriptive, published studies of exemplary principals portray (or do not portray) principals who practice, model, and otherwise promote equity and democracy in teaching, learning, and leadership in their schools and communities. We use a previously-developed conceptual framework of democratic practice as an initial organizer for our data, and a qualitative meta-analytic method to more carefully review and examine the studies. We arrived at a number of surprising insights.

Authors

• Ulrich C. Reitzug, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Mary John O'Hair, University of Kentucky