The Role of District Leaders in Improving Achievement and Equity

Abstract

District leaders are under tremendous pressure to narrow persisting achievement disparities with a dearth of guidance from existing literature. Rorrer, Skrla, and Scheurich (2008) proposed a theory that district leaders enact four essential roles when engaging in systemic reform that improves achievement and equity: (1) providing instructional leadership which consists of building capacity and generating will, (2) reorienting the organization, (3) establishing policy coherence, and (4) maintaining an equity focus. However, these roles are not well understood. Therefore, this qualitative case study contributed to research and practice by exploring how leaders in a Massachusetts public school district that made gains in improving achievement and equity attempted to generate will, defined as intrinsic motivation, when enacting the role of instructional leadership. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews and a review of documents, this study concluded that leaders enacted the role to varying degrees in ways that were consistent with Rorrer, et al. (2008). Data revealed that leaders attempted to act as transformational leaders and distribute leadership in a manner that connected with individual’s values, beliefs, and desires. Furthermore, when enacting these leadership constructs, leaders attempted to use extrinsic motivators, including recognition, data, and resources such as time for collaboration and professional learning, to promote autonomy and self- determination. Recommendations include how district leaders can enact this role in a more informed, proactive and deliberate manner.