Principals’ Perceptions of Education Equity: A Mindset for Practice

Abstract

In an effort to define a principal education equity mindset, we initially identified six essential attributes of the construct and attempted empirically to confirm our definition by gathering a combination of quantitative and qualitative data from 128 principals. We found variations in the expression of the mindset attributes and commitment by principals to create conditions that support success for all students. In addition, we exposed two unanticipated attributes and variations on attribute commitment. The principals’ personal, professional, and school variables were associated with significant differences in the mindset attributes. We provide a discussion of our findings, implications for practice, and directions for future research.