Racial-Equity Policy as Leadership Practice: Using Social Practice Theory to Analyze Policy as Practice

Feldman, Sue S.; Winchester, Ilana

doi:10.18251/ijme.v17i1.855

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…On the one hand, local school and district leaders have discretion to make sense of policy as they deliver, and challenge top-down agendas ( Molla & Gale, 2019 ; Wang, 2018 ). Therefore, we do not understand policy continuity or change unless we understand how practitioners make sense of it ( Feldman & Winchester, 2015 ; Hemmer et al, 2013 ; Kornhaber et al, 2017 ; Trujillo, 2012 ; see also Spillane et al ., 2012 ) or their resources to deliver ( Meyer et al, 2018 ). On the other hand, their actions take place in a wider context of multi-level policymaking, in which neoliberal global and national agendas constrain their discretion, while local community or parental opposition limits their role as ‘change agents’.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, Feldman & Winchester (2015: 69–71) distinguish between (a) the limited-impact formal measures that establish legal rights, and (b) policy designs grounded in practice and continuous discussion - ‘courageous conversations’- over many years. Crucially, policy does not have a settled definition.…”

Section: Policy Ambiguity: the Competition To Define And Deliver Equitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Feldman & Winchester (2015: 66–7) describe the potential for leadership to make a difference if education reformers ‘refocus policy implementation research’ to take local practices and mediation seriously, while Rorrer et al (2008: 328) argue that school ‘districts are also capable of disrupting and even displacing … institutionalized structures and practices that perpetuate inequity in student achievement’. Brezicha & Hopkins (2016) use the ‘zone of mediation’ to highlight the positive impact of a community organisation that offered translation services and English-language teaching for Dominican parents.…”

Section: Policymaking Complexity: Top-down and Bottom-up Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The future of education equity policy in a COVID-19 world: a qualitative systematic review of lessons from education policymaking

Cairney¹,

Kippin²

2022

Open Res Europe

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Background: COVID-19 had a major global impact on education, prompting concerns about its unequal effects and some impetus to reboot equity strategies. Yet, policy processes exhibit major gaps between such expectations and outcomes, and similar inequalities endured for decades before the pandemic. Our objective is to establish how education researchers, drawing on policy concepts and theories, explain and seek to address this problem. Methods: A qualitative systematic review (2020-21), to identify peer reviewed research and commentary articles on education, equity, and policymaking, in specialist and general databases (ERIC, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane/ Social Systems Evidence). We did not apply additional quality measures. We used an immersive and inductive approach to identify key themes. We use these texts to produce a general narrative and explore how policy theory articles inform it. Results: 140 texts (109 articles included; 31 texts snowballed) provide a non-trivial reference to policymaking. Limiting inclusion to English-language produced a bias towards Global North articles. Our comparison with a review of health equity research highlights distinctive elements in education. First, education equity is ambiguous and contested, with no settled global definition or agenda (although some countries and international organisations have disproportionate influence). Second, researchers critique ‘neoliberal’ approaches that dominate policymaking at the expense of ‘social justice’. Third, more studies provide ‘bottom-up’ analysis of ‘implementation gaps’. Fourth, more studies relate inequity to ineffective policymaking to address marginalised groups. Conclusions: Few studies use policy theories to explain policymaking, but there is an education-specific literature performing a similar role. Compared to health research, there is more use of critical policy analysis to reflect on power and less focus on technical design issues. There is high certainty that current neoliberal policies are failing, but low certainty about how to challenge them successfully.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Policy Ambiguity: the Competition To Define And Deliver Equitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Policymaking Complexity: Top-down and Bottom-up Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The future of education equity policy in a COVID-19 world: a qualitative systematic review of lessons from education policymaking

Cairney¹,

Kippin²

2022

Open Res Europe

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“…We did not develop a priori codes since very little exists in the literature regarding developing and implementing a racial equity lens in a school district. (For one exception, see Feldman & Winchester, 2015. ) Code development began after completion of the fourth interview session.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indicators to Assist in Addressing Equity through Policy Adoption

Connolly

Durant

Durham

2020

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

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Background/Context The introduction of a racial equity policy provided an opportunity for one school district to examine its systems. The policy addressed structural inequity, as well as cultural literacy issues, internal personal biases, and other power dynamic differences in a historically impacted city. Researchers from a local research-practice policy partnered with the district Director of Equity to support the implementation of a racial equity policy that could be informed by data and research. Purpose/Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate if early warning indicators, specifically indicators of organizational readiness and a Director's leadership skills, could guide the implementation of a racial equity policy. Research Design The study explored using two instruments adapted from Adaptive Leadership to provide iterative feedback on the implementation of a new, challenging policy. Through development of an interview protocol that included potential leading indicators as well as qualitative prompts focused on readiness challenges and successes, the research team and Director met every three weeks to generate data and reflect on preliminary themes. Findings/Results The team found that the indicators of organizational readiness and leadership skill were helpful in informing on the current status and developing new ideas and scenarios to ease implementation of the policy. The qualitative data yielded themes highlighting critical tensions and focus areas essential for practitioners to consider when implementing a racial equity policy. Conclusions/Recommendations The primary implication of the study is that leaders and researchers need to focus on systems-level organizational work and the development of leadership skills. Leaders must anticipate district and school staff defaulting to technical rather than adaptive solutions, especially when addressing the goal of equity. While technical solutions are expedient and comfortable, they will not lead to true or continuous improvement. Moreover, the professional development work required is not singular or temporary, but rather embedded work, likely over many years. Also critical is team learning through authentic conversations making space for individuals’ lived experiences. A final step for developing systems-thinking is iteratively defining the metrics each office and school should be using to support this work formatively. As districts engage in such efforts, a focus on proximal, process-based measures will be more immediately helpful, particularly measures for staff, and not necessarily student data.

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College Readiness Versus College Worthiness: Examining the Role of Principal Beliefs on College Readiness Initiatives in an Urban U.S. High School

Convertino

Graboski-Bauer

2017

Urban Rev

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Racial-Equity Policy as Leadership Practice: Using Social Practice Theory to Analyze Policy as Practice

Cited by 4 publications

References 45 publications

The future of education equity policy in a COVID-19 world: a qualitative systematic review of lessons from education policymaking

The future of education equity policy in a COVID-19 world: a qualitative systematic review of lessons from education policymaking

Indicators to Assist in Addressing Equity through Policy Adoption

College Readiness Versus College Worthiness: Examining the Role of Principal Beliefs on College Readiness Initiatives in an Urban U.S. High School

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