Framing Leaders’ Discourses on College and Career Readiness

Abstract

Purpose: This multiple comparative case study investigated district and high school leaders’ framing mechanisms and discourses around priorities and challenges to understand their equity aims and their preparation of diverse student populations’ college, career, and civic readiness. Research Methods/Approach: This research used framing theory to examine semistructured interviews and focus groups with 34 educational leaders from four sample schools with above average percentages of Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and/or economically disadvantaged students. Three positive outlier schools were sampled as they achieved statistically significantly better graduation outcomes, whereas the comparison typical school performed as predicted. Findings: Positive outlier leaders coupled diagnostic and prognostic framing to address priorities and challenges while advancing an equity-oriented agenda. In addition, the positive outlier leaders’ discourses prioritized local needs and values, contextual challenges, and organizational learning. Furthermore, positive outlier leaders used a hybrid frame (motivational, normative, and regulatory) to emphasize academic achievement and student needs in service of improving outcomes for diverse students. In these schools, these hybrid discourses amount to a normative frame: “the way we do things around here.” In contrast, typical school leaders framed a narrower agenda focused on compliance-oriented discourses structured by policy regulations, and these acted as the primary motivators for action. Implications: Understanding framing mechanisms and discourses has import for educational leaders’ practices as they make sense of improvement efforts for underserved youth. Leaders’ frames and discourses may provide a consequential improvement mechanism for schools and entire districts caught in suboptimal organizational patterns and behavioral routines.