Developing “Equity Sense”: Meaning-Making at a Community College

Abstract

While there is no shortage of scholarship on “equity” in higher education, researchers typically examine whether a policy or practice is (in)equitable rather than how those responsible for designing and enacting a policy or practice make meaning of equity. Using a sensemaking framework and case study approach, I explored the collective meaning-making of practitioners at one community college during a time of increased policy attention to equity. Despite lacking a formal definition after 2 years of meaning-making, practitioners labeled specific ideas and activities as equity, suggesting the development of an implicit understanding. From this case, I offer five lessons to propose the concept of “equity sense,” a practitioner-constructed, contextually bounded meaning with implications for practice, policy, and research.