Opportunities and Access: Exploring How School District Leaders Make Meaning of Equity in Practice through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore how PBIS and equity interacted according to school and district leaders.Research methods/approach: This study examined how five schools made meaning of the implementation process, ongoing efforts, and structures created. Through a case study including interviews, focus groups, and observations, the primary research question was explored: How do school leaders and teachers make meaning of implementing and assessing PBIS in their schools as a component of a journey toward equity?Findings: While the five schools had unique aspects, four common themes emerged across schools, including the benefits of PBIS, the power of relationships, the importance of communication and leadership, and PBIS challenges.

It has to be the fabric: practicing district-level equity-minded leadership in a predominantly white high school

“…Cycle 1 data analysis highlighted the potential of equity-minded leadership, especially as this leadership style relied on reflection, collaboration, and the centering of students. Equity-minded leadership is a leadership model by which educational leaders reflect on their experiences, beliefs, and privileges while also viewing leadership as collaborative action towards a goal of identifying systemic inequities and remedying them (Dowd and Bensimon, 2015 as in Clayton, 2020). A grounding in experience and beliefs forms the crux of the equity-minded leaders' sense of purpose as well as their ability to be transformative leaders (Clayton et.…”

“…As such, a final Cycle 2 research question was also "How does personal reflection on beliefs and values support the collaborative building of an equity lens?" Taken together, these action steps put into practice the finding that transformative district-level leaders need to be intentional in the expectation that school-based administrators and faculty look through an equity lens (Clayton et. al, 2020;Shields, 2010;Wang, 2018).…”

“…Consideration of roadblocking plays an important role in the depth and pace of educational leaders' responses to social justice and equity issues (Clayton et. al, 2020;Dugan, 2021;Gooder, 2022;Irby et.…”

“…As such, superintendents often choose a slower road towards remedying systemic inequities. In fact, the slow pace of effective intentionality around equity initiatives is in itself a rock-block (Clayton et. al, 2020).…”

“…How might the relationship between district and school-based administrators affect this gap? This gap is often especially present when a school is high-performing --at least on paper (Clayton et. al, 2020).…”