8 FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES

Change is possible. Transformation is possible. Liberation is possible.

Our starting point for this work is that change, transformation and liberation are possible. When working within the constraints of inflexible systems, external requirements, and limited time and resources, we often rely on established patterns and existing ways of doing things. Doing the work of equity inquiry requires building the muscle to envision schools characterized by equity and liberation. This can be supported by creating a clear, courageous vision of the kind of school community that young people and adults want to be a part of. 

In school settings, unlearning adultism can be transformative.

Schools are places where students are socialized from their earliest years to learn about their relationship to power and social identity — in emotional, embodied and cognitive ways. Transforming the dynamics between adults and young people therefore has the potential to transform all other ways of being and relating across identity and difference. Since our current systems of schools are set up in ways that give adults a lot of power, doing the work of equity inquiry requires adults to consistently participate in intentional processes of confronting and unlearning these dynamics and the assumptions that may be at play as we do this work.

Racism exists in school settings (and intersects with misogyny, homophobia, ableism, and other oppressions). It needs to be interrupted.

The role of an equity inquiry is not to prove or disprove that racism and other intersecting systems of oppression exist in our settings. The role of an equity inquiry is to understand—with depth and nuance—the specific ways inequities are playing out so that schools can intervene to interrupt them and enact change, and to ensure that the experience of schooling is humanizing for all students.

If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.

While the term equity “audit” often implies comprehensiveness and can include everything from discipline records to hiring practices to curricula, the process of an equity inquiry lends itself to depth over breadth. Rather than yielding tens or even hundreds of recommendations, which can be overwhelming, an equity inquiry seeks to focus on a few key areas. Although it can often feel like everything needs to be addressed urgently, this is often unfeasible and counterproductive. Over time, the process of equity inquiry can be done over and over again (like patterns of fractals in nature*) to achieve scale, without compromising depth and relational processes. 

*adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy (2017)

Invest time in the questions that are likely to generate meaningful answers and action.

Especially in small settings, educators usually already have answers to many questions that traditionally come up in an equity audit, either through data that has already been collected (such as attendance and discipline records) or because the experiences of marginalized students are already widely known (for eg. public instances of hate speech or ongoing microaggressions). Other times we can assume that certain conditions of inequity (like racism, transphobia etc.) are likely present in schools because it is a condition in the broader landscape of society. Investing in asking deeper, nuanced and complex questions that humanize participants are more likely to generate meaningful answers and lead to action.

Prioritize participant safety, especially for those who are most on the margins.

Equity in schools can be a fraught subject. Especially in small communities, traditional research techniques that are not sensitive to relationships and dynamics of power can put people -- especially those on the margins -- at risk, and on the receiving end of repercussions and further marginalization. When it is difficult to assure participants of anonymity, we have to ensure that the inquiry process prioritizes the physical and emotional safety of participants. This is why it is important that equity work does not take place as a one-off event, and rather takes place in ongoing cycles that can introduce creative and relational ways of doing equity work. 

Equity inquiry challenges the prevalent ‘ways of knowing’ in research and in school settings.

Historically, research has relied on ‘ways of knowing’ that have been centered on the idea that data are neutral, objective and can be observed without bias to uncover patterns in a single, true representation of reality. However, these frames have often privileged the experiences and world-views of those in positions of power, and taken an extractive and deficit-based approach to historically marginalized communities, including in educational settings. Equity inquiry requires taking a step back and asking questions that critically re-examine what “counts” as evidence, whose knowledge and perspectives are centered, what is seen as valuable, and for whom?

Equity inquiry is about real change, not compliance.

Even when equity audits are done in the spirit of change, audits in and of themselves do not often effectively support adaptive change processes, especially in ways that center students. In small districts, resources are often limited, it is critical for any equity efforts to prioritize real, meaningful change rather than as an exercise of compliance. There may be people who resist this work -- it is important to acknowledge that there is no way to be “neutral” about inequity and proactively anticipate where additional support, mentorship and capacity may be needed.