Identifying Agentic Dispositions in University–District Partnerships: A CHAT Study of Equity-Centered Principal Preparation

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 9:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Systems and Stories: Cultural-Historical Perspectives on Development and Equity

Abstract

We use the concept of agency to explore university-district partnerships formed to advance equity-centered school leader preparation. Using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), we analyze how one urban school district and its two university partners navigated institutional differences during a multi-year, grant-funded initiative focused on leadership for equity. Data analysis addresses three forms of agency: individual agency that included boundary-challenging actions, relational agency that helped partners balance institutional autonomy with collaborative expansion, and collective agency that gave rise to shared practices. We conceptualize the partnership as a third space, and demonstrate how productive tension resolution and collaborative meaning-making expanded the partners’ capacities to advance equity beyond what any institution could have achieved independently.

Authors

• Shweta Chandrashekhar, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Daniella Molle, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Arati Bapat, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Emily Nott, University of Wisconsin - Madison