Case Study of Three Rural Texas Superintendents as Equity Oriented Change Agents.

You must be the change you want to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi Introduction Theoharris (2009) recently articulated the research problem addressed in this study when he noted that, While there is a small but growing body of social justice/equity oriented change agency/equity leadership literature, what is missing from this growing body of literature is a discussion and details of concrete models and real school leaders who live out a call to do social justice/equity oriented change agency/equity work (SJL) in public schools. (p. 9) Thus, our objective for this research was to conduct a case study (Patton, 2003) using narrative inquiry (Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, & Allen, 1993) of three superintendents working in rural districts in Texas, each of whom have had leadership success in their high-needs, public PK-12 school districts. Additionally, we wanted to ascertain how these school personnel lead successfully, while focused on equity for all students and working in challenging circumstances. Research such as this has global significance in light of the fact that while there has been a steady expansion of the social justice/equity oriented change agency-oriented scholarship in educational leadership (Houston, Blankenstein, & Cole, 2010) little of it has been centered on rural social justice/equity oriented change agency/equity leadership. Indeed, it is somewhat ironic that the "othering" of rural education has yielded omission and invisibility with regard to rural school leadership in the aforementioned social justice/equity oriented change agency and equity frameworks that forthrightly seek to avoid marginalization of any particular perspective. While this oversight is problematic, it is not surprising. According to Howley (1997), "Rural people in general--and also rural commitments, ideas, and practices--are [often] 'othered'" (p. 34). Thus, not only has there been a deficit of attention to rural social justice/equity oriented change agency/equity oriented leadership this very deficit may indicate an unconscious bias among social justice/equity oriented change agency-oriented scholars. Thus, with an intended audience of school leaders and researchers who care about school leadership, this study offers insight into uncharted territory, that is how rural school leaders perceive their work and whether they perceive their work as social justice focused/equity oriented change agency as aligned to the Equity Oriented Change Agency (EOCA) framework proposed by Skrla, McKenzie, and Scheurich (2009). Theoretical Framework Too little attention has been paid to the academic performance gaps between rural students and their suburban counterparts (Khattri, Riley, & Kane, 1997). These performance gaps are of concern because the number of students being taught in rural schools has increased from just over 9 million in 2007 to over 10 million students in 2009 (Johnson & Strange, 2009). Additionally, a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) (2011-2012) noted that in eight states, including Arizona, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, New Mexico, and Florida, rural school district enrollment grew by over 22 percent from academic years 1999-2000 through 2008-2009. This compares with a 1.7% increase in enrollment among all non-rural districts (USDE, 2012). Thus, these statistics support what Scheurich and Skrla (2003) have advocated; that is, providing equitable and excellent educational experiences for all students, regardless of whether these students are urban, suburban, or rural, is essential. Moreover, the literature on school change has noted "exemplary leadership helps create the necessity for change" (Theoharis, 2009, p. 8). Furthermore, exemplary leadership makes the change happen (Fullan, 1993, 2001; Grogan, 2002a, 2002b; Theoharis, 2007). Theoharris (2009) asks these questions with regard to exemplary leadership: What does leadership that transforms schools into more equitable and just places, with an attention to climate and achievement, accomplish? …