Balancing the Role of the Principalship: Creating and Sustaining Equity and Excellence in an Accountability World

• In Event: 18.052 - School Leadership for Equity in Student Learning

Abstract

“How do personal beliefs, organizational structures, and decision-making processes influence principal practice in leading for equity?” Over the course of one academic school year, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews, participant shadowing and collected artifacts from three elementary school principals with demonstrated success in increasing student achievement for all students. Using the portraiture methodology, the study examined the interrelationships between principal beliefs and expectations on the principal’s capacity to create the conditions for equity and excellence that result in increased student achievement for all students. The research concluded with the construction of parallels between principal beliefs and the organizational structures and processes they employ to support equity and excellence for all students.

Authors

• Arronza LaBatt, Montgomery County Public Schools

• Jennifer K. Clayton, The George Washington University