Examining urban school principals’ perceptions and insights on the bidirectionality of engagement: a case study of school district leaders

ABSTRACT

Limited culturally responsive knowledge, skills, and engagement among school leaders contributes to significant racial disparities seen in diverse student outcomes (school pushout, rates in school discipline, and opportunity gap) and remains a pernicious problem for public schools in the United States. Also, school leaders and teachers often lack authentic engagement contributes to a sense of belongingness and connectedness among students, families, and school staff and systems. Thus, the primary purpose of the study was to explore principals’ beliefs and insights about both school leaders’ and students’ engagement behaviours and their contribution to cultural competence, school climate, and educational achievement. Qualitative data were collected using structured interviews with 40 school leaders from a large urban school district located in the mid-West. Thematic coding was used to analyse the data and emergent themes were identified based on principals’ responses. Results derived from their narratives and data analysis generated five major themes. The findings cohered with the existing literature related to communication methods, professional development trainings, and ways of being that impede and facilitate cultural competence, school climate, and leader and student engagement. Preliminary recommendations for future research and practice are offered.

KEYWORDS:

• Engagement
• school leaders
• cultural competence
• student engagement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Detra D. Johnson

Detra D. Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston (Texas). Dr. Johnson has over 15 years of experience as a K12 practitioner as a classroom teacher, a campus administrator, a district administrator, and an educational consultant for Region 4 Educational Service Center (a statewide educational support center for school staff, teachers, and administrators). Her research agenda focuses on social justice, educational disparities and inequities, diversity, inclusion for marginalized persons with the intersection of educational policies, politics, and practices and the application of resilience and self-determination. Her service includes national, statewide, local, and community organizations. She teaches courses in research methods, educational administration, leadership, organizational theory, legal issues and school law, and urban school policies. Dr. Johnson continues to contribute to study and practice of educational leadership and policy studies.

Lisa M. Hooper

Dr. Lisa M. Hooper has served as an educator, scholar, researcher, mentor, supervisor, and leader for the past 18 years, since receiving her Ph.D. from George Washington University. Early in her career she served as an investigator, project director, and research instructor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and later as a tenured professor at the University of Alabama and the University of Louisville directing research focused on the intersection among systems (e.g., school, family, neighborhood, community, health care) and race, ethnicity, and culture. Dr. Hooper's research constitutes a collaborative, integrative, approach to ecological systems, psychology, education, and whole-person outcomes (e.g., academic, emotional, mental, and physical). The idea of systems and whole-person care has applicability to individuals from cradle to grave, including K-20 populations, and transportability among diverse ecological systems, including schools and health agencies. Dr. Hooper has procured and led grants funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Mental Health, and most recently the Jefferson County Public School System (Diversity, Equity, and Poverty Programs Division) in Louisville, Kentucky. Since 2005, she has served as a NIH Health Disparities Scholar. Currently, she is collaborating with the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create an educational initiative focused on cultural and linguistic competency.

Daniel D. Spikes

Daniel D. Spikes is now beginning his third year as the Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services for the Lufkin Independent School District in Lufkin, Texas. Prior to accepting this position in his hometown, he served as a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership, Organizations and Policy at Iowa State University (ISU) for four years and for the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of South Carolina for two years. In this role, he helped prepare future P-12 principals, superintendents, university education faculty and P-12 educational policy makers. His research interests focus on racial disparities in educational outcomes and the policies and practices of school districts, schools, and school leaders that serve to perpetuate and/or ameliorate these disparities. He also focuses on the professional development of adult learners on critical consciousness and how this development contributes to the improvement of educational experiences and outcomes for all students.

Bradley W. Carpenter

Bradley W. Carpenter, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Baylor University, where he serves as the Director of the Executive Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. As a former public school teacher, assistant principal, and principal Dr. Carpenter has a passion for working with aspiring and current school leaders. Specifically, he enjoys his role in helping principals and superintendents realize their identity as transformational leaders in local communities. Dr. Carpenter's research is focused on three primary areas of scholarship: (a) Leadership Wellbeing, (b) the Development of Equity-oriented School Leaders, and, (c) How Discourse and Deliberative Democracy Shapes Federal, State, and Local Policy. Dr. Carpenter's research has been published in journals such as the Journal of School Leadership, NASSP Bulletin, Education Policy, Urban Education, Education and Urban Society, and many others. Bradley is a member of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration (TCPEA), and actively participates in the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) and American Educational Research Association (AERA) Divisions A & L. Dr. Carpenter is a past associate editor for the Journal of Research on Leadership Education (JRLE) and the Journal of School Leadership (JSL), and an editorial board member of the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership (JCEL).

Amanda Bowers

Amanda Bowers is the Executive Director of Workforce & Community Assessment at Motlow State Community College. She received her bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University in Political Science and Human and Organizational Development, and her M.Ed. from Vanderbilt's Peabody College in Community Development & Action. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Louisville in Educational Leadership, Evaluation, & Organizational Development. Her work focuses on connections between higher education and community development, and industry and workforce alignment.

Gaëtane Jean-Marie

Gaëtane Jean-Marie has been dean of the College of Education at Rowan University since 2019. Prior to that, she was dean of the College of Education and Richard 0. Jacobson Endowed Chair of Leadership in Education at the University of Northern Iowa. In addition to building the college capacity, she has focused on diversity and teacher shortages pipeline initiatives in partnership with districts, state department of education, foundations, and LEAs. Her higher education experiences also include serving as department chair, codirector of the Center for Educational Research, Policy and Evaluation and affiliation with policy and research centers (e.g., Oklahoma Center for Education Policy, K-20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal, and Center for Urban Education and Innovation).