2018 JN PP Christina Convertino_1.pdf
Terbatas  Irwan Sofiyan
» Gedung UPT Perpustakaan
Terbatas  Irwan Sofiyan
» Gedung UPT Perpustakaan
In light of increasing emphasis on the importance of post-secondary
education to personal economic security, there is growing interest to promote college
readiness initiatives in high schools, particularly for low-income and minority
students for whom the harmful effects of institutional inequities on college readiness
is well-documented. Relatively unexplored is whether and how deficit beliefs about
these students influence college readiness initiatives. Extant literature establishes
that principals play an important role in mediating organizational change and culture.
However, there is scant research evaluating how principals’ beliefs may
influence their leadership towards reforming college readiness, particularly in regard
to creating a college-going culture. This case study provides a critical examination
of one principal who engaged in school-wide organizational change to create a
college-going culture at an urban U.S. high school serving a high number of lowincome
and minority students. Discourse analysis revealed that although this principal’s
reform efforts were exemplary in many ways, he expressed deficit views of
underrepresented students. Findings suggest that reductionist views of minority and
low-income students conflict with initiatives to promote equitable college readiness.
This case study uncovers a discursive dichotomy significant to examining the
intersectionality of principals’ beliefs and college readiness initiatives.