“Are Districts Ready for Us?” A Principal Preparation Program’s Work to Prepare Equity-Focused Leaders

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Cultivating Equity-Centered Leaders: Preparing Tomorrow's Leaders (Table 7)

Abstract

Equity-centered principal preparation programs seek to prepare school leaders through programmatic components such as self-reflection, data analysis tools, and practice engaging in community-building conversations. These programs have an opportunity to prepare graduates with the skills and knowledge to engage in the politics of education, shaping their leadership around practices that seek to remedy and repair the harms of inequitable systems. This qualitative case study examines how a principal preparation program prepared aspiring leaders to enact equity-driven practices in varying sociopolitical contexts. Preliminary findings indicate that the program prepared graduates with skills and resources to initiate equity work in their schools; however, graduates felt less prepared for the nuances of local politics as they encountered resistance to equity-driven leadership.

Authors

• Mary Kathryn Oyaga, North Carolina State University

• Jenn Ayscue, North Carolina State University

• Zainab Qaabidh, North Carolina State University

• Rachel Rana, North Carolina State University

• Cassandra Rubinstein, North Carolina State University